


I'd like to stop being volunteered to save the world now

by karmicMayhem



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Fluff, Gakushuu basically became a magical girl, Gakushuu joins class 3-E, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Some angst, but he wants no part of any of this mess, he barely sleeps, listen, no magical girl outfit changes though, someone help this boy, too bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 73,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25152406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karmicMayhem/pseuds/karmicMayhem
Summary: Gakushuu's life has been hell for the last...Well, his whole life really.But this last month has specifically been difficult. Magic, an annoying guide that won't let him ignore his duties, and to top it all off he's now been kicked down to E-class.At this point, he really just wants a nap more than anything.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Asano Gakushuu
Comments: 526
Kudos: 735





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey Nagisa, have you heard the news yet?”

Nagisa looked up from his notebook to the redhead standing over his desk. “Heard what?” he asked. He _had_ noticed the rise in hushed whispers around him that day, so he knew that something interesting must have happened.

Karma grinned, vicious and excited with a few too many teeth in his smile. 

“It seems that the principal’s perfect son has been kicked down to E-class.”

\--

Gakushuu stood outside the entrance to the old campus and briefly entertained the idea of turning back around, buying a plane ticket, changing his name, and moving to Siberia instead.

He always did enjoy snow.

With a sigh, he adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder and walked inside. 

The room went silent as he entered, every head snapping up to look at him. Not sparing any of them a glance, he kept his head up and moved to sit at one of the empty desks at the back of the class.

Ignoring the stares, he pulled a thermos out of his bag and poured some of the coffee inside into the lid that also functioned as a cup. After staring blankly into the coffee for a few moments, he quickly knocked it back like he was taking a shot.

Karma, who had initially walked over to give Asano a hard time, was thoroughly distracted by the spectacle. “What’s even _in_ that? Did you spike it or something?”

Gakushuu blinked and looked up at the other boy. “It's espresso.” he replied blandly. 

Raising an eyebrow, Karma leaned forward to look into the large thermos. “This whole thing is filled with pure espresso?” he asked, looking somewhere between vaguely disgusted and reluctantly impressed. “You're going to die.”

“Well I'm hardly going to chug it all at once.” Gakushuu shot back lightly. “I just drink some here and there throughout the day to help me stay awake.”

In spite of himself, Karma found himself interested. “Have you just _always_ done this?” Surely the other would have had a heart attack by now if that were true, right?

Gakushuu sighed. “Well I always used to around finals, but drinking it daily is more of a recent thing.”

Karma’s grin stretched wider as he finally remembered why he walked over in the first place. “The same sort of recent as being kicked down to E-class? What happened, did you fail a test? Misspell a word?”

Gakushuu felt his eyebrow twitch at the mocking tone. “Started skipping class, actually.” he returned smoothly.

Whispers broke out around the class at that, all of them having been eavesdropping into the conversation. Karma’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. Out of everything he expected to hear, that admittedly wasn't one of them. Skipping class seemed too out of character for what he knew about the other. 

“Wha-” Karma’s next question was cut off, however, when Koro-sensei rocketed into the front of the class through the window.

“Hello class!” The yellow octopus greeted obliviously. “Today we-” he paused as he finally noticed the new student sitting at the back. 

A beat of silence passed.

Then another.

The door to the room burst open and Karasuma-sensei strode in, already looking done with the entire day. “You,” he hissed at the frozen super-powered teacher, “weren't supposed to show up until _after_ we briefed the new student on the situation.”

“Um…” Koro-sensei began timidly, “I uh… I forgot. Oops?”

Karasuma’s eye twitched. 

Then as one, everyone seemed to recall the newest student in their midst and turned to look at him.

Gakushuu blinked at all of them emotionlessly for a moment before pouring more espresso into the lid, this time filling it to the brim, and knocking it back. “Okay.” he began, the feeling that he didn't bring _nearly_ enough espresso for this day building rapidly, “Would someone care to explain?”

\--

So.

The moon was destroyed by a nine foot tall yellow octopus. 

Said octopus was teaching this class.

He was now expected to help kill the octopus to save the world. 

Right.

He absorbed all of the information silently, only occasionally sipping at his drink as the situation was explained fully to him. When Karasuma-sensei finished his explanation, Gakushuu waited for a few more seconds to make sure nothing else needed to be added before he responded. 

“Okay then.” He accepted with a small nod.

The class stared at him.

He passively stared back. 

“What the _hell_ kinda reaction is that!?” Terasaka finally shouted. “Why aren't you more weirded out by this shit!? It's not normal!” He was unknowingly echoing the rest of the class’s thoughts as well. They had all been expecting more of a reaction than _that._

Gakushuu looked incredibly tired suddenly. “This isn't the strangest thing I've seen this week.” he answered vaguely, confusing the class more. 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” Terasaka yelled back, frustrated. 

Gakushuu only blinked slowly at him before looking away, blatantly dismissing him.

“Hey, don't ignore me-!” His yell was cut off however when Koro-sensei came between them, his tentacles out in a placating manner.

“Okay, okay class, let’s settle down now. There'll be time for more talking later.” His grin seemed to widen a bit. “For now, it's time to start class.”

\--

Gakushuu found himself impressed by the octopus’s teaching style. Despite the fact that it was slower paced than what he was used to, it was much easier to understand. He was beginning to see where the major improvements in E-class came from.

...Though admittedly this is not how he planned on figuring out the secret his father was hiding from him. 

While the class prepared for PE, Gakushuu decided to do his own basic stretches off to the side. He was halfway through his normal warmup when a faint ringing began to build in his ears. 

He groaned internally and focused on the direction he felt he was mentally being pulled to. Casually so that no one picked up on his movements, he ducked into the woods and made his way deeper in.

He guessed he was skipping gym today.

\--

Karma crossed his arms as the other students complained about the missing Asano. He knew the boy admitted to skipping classes earlier, but he didn't think the other would do it again so _quickly._

Something smelled fishy here. 

“Who the hell does he think he is, skipping like this!?” Terasaka demanded. “He thinks he's better than us!”

A few agreeing murmurs went around.

After a quick glance down at Nagisa, who seemed more curious than disgruntled, Karma looked off to where Asano had been warming up earlier. He must have gone in that direction if no one saw him leave. Hmm...

“Hey Nagisa,” Karma began as he looked back down at the other, a mischievous grin on his face, “let’s go see where the ex-class prez went.”

\--

“I hope we don’t get in trouble for skipping as well.” Nagisa commented as they made their way further into the woods. 

“Oh, we probably will.” Karma responded nonchalantly with a small shrug. He didn’t particularly care if he got in trouble or not, he just wanted to know what was going on with Mr. Perfect. Though he did feel a _bit_ bad for dragging Nagisa into it.

Nagisa sighed. “That’s what I was afraid of…”

Their heads snapped up at the sound of a crash in the distance. They shared a glance before running towards the sound, curious as to what caused it. 

Karma, arriving at the scene first, skid to a stop at what he saw. Nagisa soon followed suit, both of their eyes wide with shock at the sight.

Standing there, surrounded by broken trees, was Asano. He was holding a sword that appeared to be _glowing_ white, while glaring in a seemingly random direction, the wind whipping his strawberry blonde hair around his face.

Nagisa took a step back, accidentally snapping a twig with his foot.

Asano’s head whipped around to look at them, his eyes widening at their sudden appearance. “You both need to get out of here.” he warned, nervously glancing back at the direction he had previously been staring at. 

Karma finally snapped out of his stupor. “Oh no way.” he said, eyes flashing with interest. “Not until you explain what _exactly_ is going on here.”

Asano looked like he was about to snap something back when he was interrupted by the sound of loud approaching footsteps. Footsteps that sounded _much_ too loud for any living being to make. Asano’s eyes whipped to the side as another tree was destroyed, seeing something they clearly couldn’t. His gaze darted between them and the empty space he was staring at indecisively before cursing under his breath and bringing out a necklace that was hidden under his shirt. He quickly pulled it off over his head and tossed it to them, much to their confusion. 

“Touch that and stay out of the way!” he called as he darted towards the newly broken tree. 

Karma’s hand shot up to catch the necklace, slowly lowering it so they could both look at it. A wire was twisted artfully around a smooth round crystal, connecting it to a simple black cord. 

But that wasn’t what was so interesting about it. 

The crystal itself was _glowing._ Different shades of purple swirled through it lazily, somehow giving off both the feeling of peace and the promise of _power_. Almost as if in a trance, they both ran their fingers over the surface, distantly feeling something _shift_ in their mind as they did so. 

Their heads snapped up as another crash echoed through the forest. Karma tucked the necklace in his pocket and they ran to catch up with Asano once more. 

This time however, something was different. 

A creature stood in a clearing, nearly as tall as the surrounding trees. It was pitch-black, seeming to actually _absorb_ the light that hit it. The creature’s body seemed to almost be _dripping_ the substance it was made from. 

It turned its beady eyes on them and opened its too-wide mouth, multiple rows of long gleaming fangs greeting them as it let out a guttural _roar_ from deep in its chest, causing the birds in the area to scatter in fright. 

Nagisa and Karma both took an involuntary step back in fear as the creature lumbered forward, carelessly knocking a tree out of its way. 

Before it could get any closer however, it let out what sounded like a pained _scream_. 

They quickly caught sight of what caused the creature to scream, seeing that Asano had stabbed the sword _deep_ into the base of the monster’s leg. Moving quickly, he pulled the sword free and jumped out of the way of its long, talon-like claws, causing them to gouge a tree instead.

Not stopping, Asano jumped up into another tree quickly and scaled it until he was at the very top branch above the creature. 

They watched in silent awe as Asano flipped down from the branch and used his momentum to plunge the blade directly between the monster’s eyes.

With one final enraged and pained scream, the creature collapsed, dead on the ground. 

Yanking his sword free, Asano extended one hand towards the creature. “Disperse!” he commanded. 

A white ball of light shot from his hand and slowly began to envelope the creature. When the creature was fully covered by the light it seemed to _shatter_ , dissolving away and taking the monster’s body with it. 

When the last of the blinding light faded away, Asano sighed, visibly tired. Then he tensed and looked back at them, then at the destruction around him, and at the glowing sword still in his hand before slowly looking back up.

“...I can explain.”


	2. Chapter 2

They moved to sit in an empty patch of grass so they could talk more comfortably away from all the debris, though if Gakushuu could have his way they wouldn't be having this talk at all.

Oh well.

“Okay, so spill.” Karma demanded after they situated themselves. “What the hell _was_ all of that?”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes at the other’s tone. “Well first of all, give me my necklace back.”

Nagisa watched with interest as Karma handed the necklace over. “Where were you hiding the sword?” he asked, curiosity clear in his tone. He couldn't imagine how someone could hide something like that. The sword itself was long and sleek, it's edge looked wickedly sharp and it was emitting a bright white light.

Not really the easiest thing to cover up. 

With a sigh, Gakushuu held the sword and necklace up. “Return.” he commanded. 

At his order, the sword began to glow even brighter and seemed to break apart the way the light that enveloped the creature did, before the shards of light all flew into the crystal and vanished. 

“I can call the sword out from the crystal, then I can just put it back when I'm done.”

He smiled placidly at them, saying nothing else for the moment.

“What the fuck.” Karma responded flatly. It was not a question. Nagisa seemed to share the sentiment, though he stayed silent.

Gakushuu’s lips twitched up slightly at that, privately enjoying their confusion. 

_Good,_ he thought, _someone else gets to be confused over this shit now._

With a sigh, Gakushuu decided to take pity on them both. “Vexus, could you come out?”

Suddenly, to the other teen’s bewilderment, a small mass of black flew from the crystal. Two large silver eyes formed and blinked two slit pupils up at them. 

“Hello.” It greeted politely. “You must be his new classmates.” At Nagisa’s faint nod, the creature seemed to smile. “My name is Vexus. I am a Guardian.”

They leaned in to examine him closer, curious about this new being. Vexus was no taller than maybe six inches, his body was constantly shifting, never staying in one form for very long. He appeared to be made from the same sort of substance as the monster from before, the only difference being the unmoving dots of light in his body, gleaming like stars. He looked like a small, amorphous galaxy.

Karma, never one to be deterred for very long by the unexpected, chose that moment to pipe up brightly, “So are you why Mr. Perfect over here has gone delinquent?”

Gakushuu scowled at the grin on the redhead’s face. “I have _not.”_ Then paused for a moment before adding, “But yes, he is.”

“He was chosen by the Cosmic Shard, and it’s my duty to guide him as he protects your dimension from the starless. Only those who have touched the Cosmic Shard can see myself and the starless.” Vexus explained, floating gently around them and taking in the area as he spoke. “The starless came from my home dimension, but they're always looking for new universes to take over and destroy. The Shard appears in the new dimension they decide to invade soon after they begin.”

“That thing you saw earlier was a starless creature, and the crystal’s actual title is the ‘Cosmic Shard’.” Gakushuu added on blandly, seeing the confusion on their faces. “But that's a bit of a mouthful, so I'm going to just continue calling it a crystal.”

Nagisa tilted his head, deciding it would be best to start at the beginning. “What does he mean by it choosing you?”

“Well,” Gakushuu began, his lips thinning in irritation, “a little over a month ago, it suddenly appeared on my desk. Under normal circumstances I would have stayed far away from it of course, but I believe I was under some form of spell at the time.” He glanced over at Vexus for confirmation, but he seemed to be very interested in studying a nearby flower, his form vaguely resembling a lizard. 

With an annoyed click of his tongue, Gakushuu continued his explanation, “When I found myself reaching out to touch it, a spike shot out from it and stabbed my finger, collecting some of my blood.”

Gakushuu remembered it clearly, that for just a moment there had been streaks of deep red flowing through the purple of the stone, mixing and glowing until there was nothing left and it left him feeling stronger and more powerful than he ever had… and yet somehow like he was suddenly connected to something much bigger than himself. Something he couldn't control.

It had been… _disconcerting_ , to say the least.

Karma leaned forward in interest. “Your blood?” he questioned. “Why would it need that?”

Vexus chose that moment to float back over. “The Cosmic Shard needed a few drops of his blood to bond properly to him. After the bonding, the new Chosen has full access to the abilities and magic of the Cosmic Shard and in return, they defeat the starless before they can destroy your dimension. The Shard finds the one who is the most suited and worthy for the role, and appears to them.”

“You make it sound like I had any choice in the matter.” Gakushuu muttered bitterly.

Vexus sniffed primly, “It’s an _honor_ to be chosen by the Shard.”

“Give the honor to someone else then.”

“We’ve been over this before, brat.”

Nagisa blinked curiously. “You tried getting rid of the crystal?” he guessed. 

“You have no idea.” Gakushuu answered dryly. “For the entire first week I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it, but it kept returning. I threw it off a bridge, into the back of a passing truck, I tried locking it in an airtight safe… _nothing_ worked. It reappeared beside me each time after about ten minutes.”

Vexus huffed. “I had to talk him out of looking for an _active volcano_ to throw it into. A volcano! I'm pretty sure I only succeeded because I pointed out that it would absolutely come back and that, when it did, it would _absolutely_ burn him after coming back from those temperatures.”

Karma whistled lowly, amused. “So why not just… _not_ do what the crystal wants?”

Crossing his arms, Gakushuu replied, “I tried that as well.” He aimed a glare down at the Guardian, “ _However_ , it seems that my ears begin to ring when a starless appears, and that ringing doesn't go away until I start fighting it. The longer I ignore it, the louder it gets. It's easy to ignore at first, but it builds and builds until it's _all_ I can hear.”

Vexus returned the glare. “There was no other way to make you properly fulfill your duties! Honestly, you have to be the most _difficult_ of the Chosen I’ve ever worked with.”

“I bet you didn't make _their_ ears ring just to get them to fight for your cause.”

“Yeah? Well that might be because no other Chosen has ever tried to _shove me down a garbage disposal before!”_

They ignored Karma’s startled choke of laughter in favor of continuing their argument. 

Gakushuu sniffed dismissively. “You were interrupting my studying and you made me skip two of my classes that day. I was well within my rights to try and get rid of you.”

“People’s lives are in danger!” Vexus yelled. “Are you honestly telling me you care more about your grades than the lives of others!?”

Gakushuu only blinked slowly at him. “Are they people I know?” he asked, his head tilted slightly as he thought it over. 

“...Holy shit, kid.”

“Well,” Karma cut in with a bright smile, “apparently your grades aren’t that great now anyway since you got demoted so far. So it shouldn’t matter at this point, _riiight?”_

Gakushuu felt his eyebrow twitch at the mocking tone. “Hardly.” he denied, his voice icy. “My grades haven’t changed much at all, actually. The only reason I was moved this far down is because the principal wanted to use me as an example, since I no longer fit into his idea of a perfect student with all of the classes I skipped.” he shrugged as though it didn’t bother him. “He’s just being petty because he doesn’t know how else to control me, honestly.”

Vexus’s form began to vaguely resemble that of a snake’s as he hissed out, “Your father is a right bastard, kid. I could hear him talking from inside the Shard and I can honestly say that I haven’t wanted to punch a human that much in a _long_ while.”

“Please, feel free.” Gakushuu shot back blandly. _“I’m_ hardly going to be the one to stop you.” He shook his head to clear it of the images of his foreign friends, and their crumpled and bloody forms on the floor of his father’s office. “Just make sure you’re good at dodging first.” he added, his eyes still a bit unfocused as he tried to blink the memories away. 

Karma raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Nagisa before looking back. “I feel like there’s a story there.”

Gakushuu’s mouth tightened into a thin line. “There isn’t.” he refuted, a tone of finality clear in his voice. “Shouldn’t we be getting back to class now?”

Nagisa nodded, but Karma shrugged. “Why go back at all?” he asked carelessly. “We’ve been gone this long, we might as well just skip the rest of the day.”

“Well,” Gakushuu began dryly, “we all left our bags back at the classroom for one.”

“How about this then?” Karma asked, not easily deterred. “We just leave long enough to grab some ice cream, then we come back. I want to hear more about all of this... _stuff_ and it looks like you need a break to relax after that fight anyway. We’re killing two birds here!” He grinned wolfishly and added, “I’ll even pay for us~.”

Nagisa sighed, used to his friend’s antics. “You stole Koro-sensei’s wallet again, didn’t you?”

Karma’s grin only widened further in response. 

“I-” Gakushuu paused to rub his temples, beginning to feel the stress of the day getting to him. “You know what? Sure. This day has been somehow even worse than I imagined, my sleep schedule has been shit for a full month now and it’s not like the principal can push me any further down.” He looked up with a raised eyebrow. “Let’s go get ice cream then.”

Karma felt his eyes widen almost imperceptibly. He hadn’t really expected Asano to _agree._ It seemed that a lot more had changed with the boy than he originally guessed. 

How interesting. 

“This explains why you weren’t too surprised by Koro-sensei.” Nagisa tacked on thoughtfully. “It really is a lot to take in.” He followed them as they got up and started to make their way out of the woods. He was already used to tagging along with Karma when the other started to go stir-crazy from not breaking any rules for too long. 

Gakushuu huffed quietly. “You’re telling me. Starless creatures come in different shapes and sizes, and last week I had to fight off a hoard of dog-sized frog things. Except the frogs had horns and three eyes and they _spit acid.”_ He grimaced at the memory. “I don’t think _anything_ could surprise me at this point, honestly.”

Karma’s eyes lit up at the idea of fighting creatures like that. “Hey, mind if I borrow that sword of yours at some point and fight some of them myself? It sounds pretty fun, honestly. Annndd I’m guessing normal weapons won’t work on those things.”

“As much as I would love to hand you the sword and give you my entire job,” Gakushuu began, pure exhaustion seeping into his voice, “I can’t. According to Vexus, the sword will burn anyone who isn’t me that touches it. Even wearing gloves will only stop it from burning you for maybe a second. You _are_ right though, that a normal weapon wouldn’t do anything against them.”

Vexus floated over and nodded along to his words. “The kid is right. Even that octopus teacher of yours wouldn’t be able to hold the sword.” He floated up and gently landed on Gakushuu’s head, deciding to hitch a ride instead of continuing to float himself. 

Gakushuu sighed at the action, too tired from the fight he had to wake up to take care of at midnight the night before to put up any real protest. “Just don’t drip on me.” he said, referring to his ever changing and occasionally liquid looking body. 

Rolling his eyes, Vexus only shot back, “You _know_ that’s not how it works. I don’t drip, brat.”

Karma looked amused at their banter. “You just hitch a ride on him like that? Is it comfortable?”

Vexus nodded. “Yes, actually. His hair is really soft and a little fluffy. Very pleasant for naps.” As though to prove his point, he nuzzled in farther and got comfortable. 

Karma hummed silently at the answer, admitting silently to himself that the other's hair _did_ look pretty soft.

“Are you part cat or something?” Gakushuu asked dryly, mostly just hoping the other wouldn’t cause knots to form. 

A purr answered him in lieu of an actual response. Gakushuu rolled his eyes at the other. Well, at least he was being quiet now. 

Honestly, he’d kill for a nap himself at that moment.

As they made their way off the mountain and into town, Gakushuu let the idle conversation from the other two wash over him. As far as confrontations go, he could admit privately to himself that this really could have gone a lot worse. They took the secret well, and they had even somehow ended up going on an _ice cream run_ of all things. 

Coupled with the fact that being in E-class pushed him that much farther away from his father’s suffocating presence…

Maybe joining this class wouldn’t be _too_ terrible after all.

Just maybe.


	3. Chapter 3

There was something oddly _freeing_ about not being in school when you were supposed to be. 

Gakushuu had never really broken a rule before this all happened. Sure, he _bent_ quite a few to suit his purposes, but he never outright _broke_ a rule. Doing so would have been like admitting defeat to his father, as though he were saying that he couldn't work within any set limitations, which was unacceptable.

But now that he could no longer fulfill his role from the top as he used to, the lack of pressure to be the very best at all times strangely felt like a weight taken off of his chest. He no longer had to worry about tutoring other students after school, nor did he have to worry about any duties he had as student council president.

He certainly wasn’t _happy_ about it, but having room to breathe was… rather nice, actually.

He spent the first week after being chosen by the crystal doing his best to get rid of it. The second week was spent being absolutely _furious_ that something would dare ruin his plans for the future. 

But now…

Now he was too tired to fight it anymore. He tried everything he could think of to make things go back to the way they were, but none of them worked. Whether he was under his father’s thumb or the crystal’s, it seemed he was constantly under the control of someone else. And he hadn't realized until now just how much he _hated_ it. 

At least the ice cream was pretty good.

He licked a bit before it could drip too far down the cone, savoring the sweetness. Nagisa had gotten two scoops of cookie dough ice cream, Karma had gotten two scoops of strawberry, and Gakushuu, unable to choose between mint chocolate chip and coffee ice cream, had just gotten a scoop of both. The combination of the flavors was surprisingly delicious. 

He tuned back into the conversation Vexus was having with the other two, realizing he had been zoned out for quite a while as they made their way back to school. 

“So,” Karma was asking the creature, “why do you keep changing your shape? The starless from earlier seemed to be holding its form pretty well, and you said you came from the same dimension.”

“If you don't mind us asking, that is.” Nagisa added, not wanting to offend the creature. 

Vexus was silent for a few moments, the only sound around them coming from the crackle of branches and leaves being stepped on in their trek up the mountain. “I…” he began hesitantly, “My species can shift at will, as you've seen, but they usually don't do it as much as I do.” He stared down at Gakushuu’s head as he continued, “That’s because, while we all have the ability to shift into whatever we like, we all have one form that is our _true_ form. What we _really_ are. That form will always be the most comfortable for us to stay in more than any other.”

Karma raised an eyebrow. “Why not use that then?”

There was a tired sigh from Vexus as he floated down to rest on Gakushuu’s shoulder instead. “I can’t remember it.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow and glanced down at him at that. “Can’t remember?”

“...A very long time ago,” Vexus recounted slowly, not looking at them, “there was an explosion in my home dimension. I… I can’t really remember what caused it. I don’t even really remember _what_ exploded. I just know that when I woke up after, most of my memories were gone.”

“Couldn’t you have asked someone?” Nagisa inquired softly, not wanting to worsen the other’s already low mood. 

The guide looked even more tired than before, and it suddenly hit Gakushuu, just how old this being really was. “I tried, but…” Vexus seemed to frown, the dotted stars of light on his body dimming a bit as well, “The explosion wiped out a lot of my people. And when I woke up, I couldn’t even remember who to look _for._ And by that time, I had already become the Guardian of the Shard, so I couldn’t really stick around for very long when the Shard began to detect starless breaking into other dimensions.”

Gakushuu frowned at that. He might be annoyed with Vexus for forcing him to work for the crystal, but that didn't mean he would wish something like _that_ on him.

Unwilling to stay in the tense silence that followed that any longer, Karma chose that moment to pipe up with, “Well, it’s a good thing you can’t remember what it was, really. It was probably something _suuuper_ lame.”

Vexus’s head snapped up, outraged and thoroughly distracted from his previous funk, _“What!?”_

Always excited and ready to mock someone, Karma continued to list forms that Vexus could have been. “Maybe you were just a tiny baby bunny, or maybe a blobfish, or-”

Nagisa and Gakushuu shared an exasperated look as Karma continued to mock the increasingly indignant guide for most of the walk back to campus. 

Gakushuu had just finished the last bite of his ice cream cone when he heard Vexus’s pleading voice pipe up from his shoulder, “Kid, you think my old form must have been impressive, right?”

Meeting the guide’s wide, pleading eyes, Gakushuu hummed thoughtfully for a moment before, “Maybe you were something small and slimy, like a snail or a slug.” 

His mouth twitched slightly up at the incoherent angry spluttering that came from the guide, followed by even _angrier_ screeching denials, before the boy schooled his face back into its usual impassive mask. 

Karma laughed delightedly at the state of the guide before leaning in and stage-whispering to Nagisa, “Did you see that? It looks like Asano _does_ have a sense of humor!”

Gakushuu only blinked placidly at him in response. “Hardly.” 

Nagisa ignored them in favor of calming the angry guide and assuring him that yes, his form _must_ have been impressive, they were just teasing him. 

Vexus huffed dramatically. “That's it, I'm staying with Nagisa instead. He's the only _nice_ one here.”

“Well, I'd agree, but we’re coming up on the building now so you should probably go back into the necklace before we get inside.” Gakushuu replied blandly. 

“It's not like anyone can see me even if I stay out, though.” The guide shot back, still irritated with the teasing. 

Gakushuu nodded. “That’s true, but you have to go home with me after this anyway, and it's not like you could chat with Nagisa during class without causing problems for him.”

Vexus froze, having momentarily forgotten that. “Okay okay, _fine._ I'll go back in.”

Rolling his eyes at the now sulking ancient creature, Gakushuu stated firmly, _“Vexus.”_

With that, the guide flashed white for just a second and flew into the crystal hanging from Gakushuu’s neck. Carefully tucking the necklace back under his shirt, he began fixing his hair and dusting off his uniform.

“So,” Nagisa piped up, “saying his name is how you bring him in and out of the crystal?”

Gakushuu nodded, “Yes, but only if I make it a command. Saying it in normal conversation wouldn't have any effect.”

“Aww,” Karma pouted at that, “but that would have been funny! Just saying his name over and over and having him pinball in and out of the crystal.”

Gakushuu could faintly feel Vexus’s irritation at the thought through his connection to the Shard. With a shake of his head he opened the door to the building and walked in, then paused. 

“This seems a bit obvious, but please don't mention this to anyone else.” Gakushuu requested. “Dealing with the fallout of that sounds like a nightmare, to be perfectly honest.”

Nagisa smiled up at him, “Well, we've managed to hide the existence of our teacher so far. I think we can keep your secret on top of that.”

Karma shrugged, grinning. “It sounds like keeping this secret will be funnier than sharing it, so I'm all for leaving everyone else in the dark.”

Exasperated but thankful, Gakushuu rolled his eyes as they made their way to the classroom and entered. Koro-sensei was immediately in front of them, a wild tangle of agitated tentacles flying around as he began to scold them for skipping. 

“Where were you all!?” he demanded.

Karma blinked innocently up at him, “We got lost in the woods and it took us a while to find our way out, sensei~”

Koro-sensei’s tentacles picked up speed at the obvious lie, _“You’re eating ice cream!”_

It was true. While Gakushuu and Nagisa had finished theirs on the way over, Karma had instead chosen to savor his, likely for this very reason. 

Despite himself, Gakushuu found himself amused at the redhead’s mischief. It was much funnier when it wasn't aimed at him, after all.

Karma shoved the last bite into his mouth, “No I'm not.” he replied brightly, through a mouthful of ice cream. 

Nagisa and Gakushuu decided to sit down while Koro-sensei was still distracted by Karma, tired from their walk. 

As he sat down, he realized that most of the class had turned around to stare at him. “Can I help you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at them. 

“Yeah,” Rio said, not afraid to be the first to speak up, “you can tell us where the hell you all went.” The rest of the class seemed to nod in agreement, all of them curious.

Gakushuu blinked slowly at them in silence for a moment before finally answering with just, “Ice cream.”

The class stared silently at him for a moment. 

“....Ice cream?” Kataoka questioned, clearly lost.

Gakushuu smiled politely and nodded. “Exactly so.”

Karma, who had finally gotten away from Koro-sensei’s nagging, snorted at the other teen’s answer. As much as he might try to play the part of ‘completely mature and serious student’ Karma could see the gleam that entered Asano’s eyes when he got the chance to subtly mess with someone. 

They might just end up getting along after all.

“Asano-kun,” Koro-sensei began, “you shouldn't skip on your first day in class!”

“Okay.” Gakushuu glanced over at the clock on the wall, which showed that there was only a few minutes left of class anyway, “I promise not to skip anymore of today.”

Some of the class let out a startled laugh at that while Koro-sensei shrieked in outrage. 

Nagisa smiled to himself as he watched the spectacle.

_Koro-sensei really has his work cut out for him here, but if anyone can manage to teach Asano despite all of this, it’ll be him._

_I wonder what will happen._


	4. Chapter 4

Karma watched with growing amusement as Asano walked into class over forty-five minutes late, pulling a twig out of his hair as he entered.

“Where have you been!?” Koro-sensei demanded, pausing his lesson to scold the tardy student.

Asano blinked at him for a few seconds before speaking in a perfect deadpan, “Ten clowns all came out of a clown car that followed me to a park and then they attempted to rob me. I’m late because I had to fend them off.”

Karma had to repress a snort at that. Asano certainly had quite an imagination, he'd give him that much. He had to stifle another laugh at the expressions on everyone else's faces, all of them a mix of startled amusement and confusion. 

Koro-sensei twitched in irritation. “That didn't happen!” he exclaimed, tentacles waving once again. 

Asano hummed quietly before responding, “But can you _prove_ that it didn’t?” He then silently used Koro-sensei’s incoherent spluttering at that as an opening to go sit at his desk. 

Watching silently as the boy sat down, Karma was once again reluctantly impressed and disturbed as the boy pulled out his thermos full of what Karma had mentally dubbed _rocket fuel_ , and drank two shots of it in quick succession before pulling his books out. 

He shook his head to clear it when he caught himself wondering if Asano had managed to sleep at all last night. 

It wasn't his concern anyway.

\--

Gakushuu was _exhausted._

He ended up having to make a detour on the way to school to fight what seemed to be a chimera starless of some sort. It had had the head of a lion, large eagle wings on its back, and what looked like the body of a bear. What was worse, he had to fight the creature on the shore of a river. He almost fell in! Twice!!

He was _positive_ that the mud was never going to fully come out of his shoes. He'd probably need to buy new ones at this rate, actually. This was hardly the first time a starless fight had left him in a muddy area. 

Maybe he needed to get boots? Something made for the outdoors and moving around. 

...He couldn't believe he was really considering buying _combat boots_ , of all things. 

Ugh, he really had given up on keeping his professional image, hadn't he?

Really, he was just happy that his body was sturdier after bonding with the crystal. With the amount of times he got slammed into a tree this morning, he _absolutely_ would have had at least a few broken bones (instead of the mild bruising he got away with instead) if he wasn’t bonded to it. 

Not that he was going to tell _Vexus_ that, of course. He'd just be smug about it. Gakushuu was still mildly annoyed with the other for waking him up to fight a small group of starless at _two in the morning_ last night. He had woken up to ringing in his ears and had attempted to slap Vexus like he would an alarm clock to make it stop. 

His lips quirked up slightly at the memory of the offended face the other had made when he actually _succeeded_. 

Gakushuu was currently leaning on a tree, waiting for gym to start. From what he could tell, the government worker from the day before seemed to also function as the class’s physical education teacher. Unexpected, but he supposed it made its own sort of sense. After all, the class being tasked with killing a super-powered being would need to have professional training of some kind.

“Alright,” Karasuma said as he approached the gathered class, “since we have a new student in our midst, we’ll need to test him to see where his physical abilities are at.” He paused and aimed a sharp glare down at Gakushuu. “We _would_ have done this yesterday of course, but someone decided to play hooky.” 

Gakushuu met the man’s stare with his own unimpressed gaze. He _lived_ with a man who made people cry with just a look _alone_ on more than one occasion. _Nobody_ could intimidate or scare him after that. Even his father himself couldn’t seem to manage it these days.

With a sigh, Karasuma began to run him through basic exercises. He demonstrated his knife skills, his speed, agility, and strength. By the end, Karasuma nodded approvingly. 

“Incredibly impressive for someone your age. I saw a bit of your martial arts skill at the sports festival, but it seems as though your talents are well rounded.” The man nodded to himself, “That’s good to know.”

_Thanks,_ Gakushuu thought to himself as he felt his bitterness rise, _it came from my father forcing me to run and practice everything as I grew up over and over until I was coughing up blood._

“Now,” Karasuma continued, “for one last test I'm going to have you spar with our current top combat student.”

Karma’s head snapped up at that, interest immediately peaked. 

Gakushuu snuck a glance at Karma, already having a feeling on who the teacher was talking about. Karma met his gaze and sent a sharp smirk his way. With a roll of his eyes, Gakushuu looked away and silently decided not to call on any of the crystal’s power for this. He wanted to win with his own strength alone. 

This promised to be interesting, at the very least.

Karasuma motioned them both to stand in the middle of the field before he spoke once more, “Now, this is only a spar to test your abilities. Both of you try your best, but don't take it too far. No broken bones, no heavy bruising, no hits below the belt and don't go for the eyes. Really just nothing I'd need to send you to the nurse for.” He raised his hand in the air, “First to pin the other to the ground for a full ten seconds wins.” He dropped his hand down in a chopping motion and called, “Begin!”

The second the man began the match, Karma launched himself forward, looking to use the element of surprise to get the upper hand. 

Gakushuu jumped to the side right in time to dodge a full-body tackle. He used Karma’s momentum to try and catch him off guard by going for a kick, but Karma turned around right on time and managed to dodge. 

The crowd watched with interest as bright mercury eyes met determined violet. They paused for only a moment before both darted forward once again.

Karma swung a fist at his face and Gakushuu caught him by the wrist, immediately attempting to swing him around to get a good grip to pin him, but Karma retaliated by aiming a kick to the other’s side. 

Quickly letting go of Karma’s arm, Gakushuu managed to move away enough for the kick to only graze his midsection. 

They continued on like this for a few more minutes, Gakushuu’s many years of various martial arts training and his speed and agility an even match against Karma’s brute strength, kinetic vision and sneaky tactics. Every hit or kick that one threw was either dodged or caught before being parried by the other. 

When Gakushuu swept Karma’s feet out from under him only to have the other immediately spring back up, he noticed the wide grin on the other’s face, seemingly ecstatic to finally have an equal sparring partner. 

And with a start, Gakushuu realized he wore a matching grin on his own face. 

Taking advantage of his split-second loss of focus, Karma took that opportunity to tackle the other to the ground, pinning his arms over his head.

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at him and, using his legs as leverage, flipped them over and pinned Karma instead. 

Grinning even wider at the new unspoken challenge in those violet eyes, Karma wrenched one of his arms underneath himself to flip them once more, once again pinning Gakushuu. 

This continued on for a few more minutes, neither of them managing to pin the other for more than a few seconds before a voice rang out, “Okay, stop!”

Both of their heads snapped up at the interruption, looking over at Karasuma who looked incredibly put-upon for some reason. 

Ah.

They both realized at the same moment that they forgot they had an audience and what this was even _for._ They were so caught up in trying to beat each other that they lost track of everything else. Pausing to catch their breath, they noticed how sweaty they had both gotten, having also managed to lose track of time. 

“So are you guys gonna kiss or what!?” Rio called, a giant devious grin on her face. It wasn't very often she got to tease Karma, and adding Asano to the list was just icing on the cake for her. 

They both blushed bright red and jolted away from each other at that. Karma, who was currently on top of a now rosy-cheeked Gakushuu, almost tripped over him in his effort to put distance between them. 

Karasuma sighed. “Alright, I think it's fair to say you're both equally matched, so we’ll just call this a tie. While both of you are incredibly talented, I did spot a few things that you could both improve on, so we’ll be working on that soon.”

Both teens nodded at that, refusing to look at the other until their faces had gone back to their normal shades. 

Nagisa smiled at them when they walked back to the main group. “That was a really cool fight!” 

Karma smirked in response at his friend before spinning on one foot to look at Gakushuu, his face spelling mischief to come. “Hey Asano, Nagisa and I are going to the movies after school tomorrow. You should join us.”

Raising an eyebrow, Gakushuu responded dryly, “Why are you inviting _me?_ We aren't even friends.”

Karma gasped dramatically, the impish look in his eye growing, “Of course I'm inviting you! We’re ice cream pals now, you see.” He nodded solemnly along to his words as he spoke, as though to showcase how serious he was. “An unbreakable bond. You're stuck with us now.”

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at the other. _Ice cream pals my ass, you just want an excuse to be around to annoy me more often._

_Then again,_ he thought to himself reluctantly, _the less time I spend at home the better, plus I haven't done anything actually enjoyable in months…_

“You realize,” Gakushuu began, crossing his arms as he stared him down, “that I might have to leave at any point. And that there's a chance that I won't be able to make it at all?”

Karma’s grin brightened at the tentative ‘yes’ he could hear coming before he shrugged, unbothered. “Yeah, that's fine. Just text us when you can so that we know what's up.”

Gakushuu sighed. “Fine, we’ll need to exchange phone numbers then.” He looked down at Nagisa for a moment before adding, “If my presence is alright with you as well?”

“Oh, it's fine!” Nagisa replied, a small but genuine smile on his face. “It sounds fun, actually. Let's all exchange our numbers after class today.”

That got an agreeing nod from both of the other teens. 

Gakushuu used his sleeve to wipe some of the sweat off his brow and belatedly realized he had enjoyed this one PE class more than he had any of the ones he’d had at the main campus combined. 

As his gaze wandered over to the redhead, he found that he was really looking forward to sparring with him again sometime in the future. 

How strange.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day was mostly uneventful for Gakushuu, only needing to leave to fight a starless towards the very end of class for once. And even the one starless he needed to fight was small and mostly harmless, not taking long to defeat at all. 

So with no excuse not to go, he found himself tagging along with Karma and Nagisa as they made their way to the movies.

He let his eyes wander around to the different shops they were passing as the conversation from the other two washed over him. He was surprised however, when Karma turned his bright golden eyes on him and asked, “Hey, does Vexus wanna watch the movie too? No one else could see him, so it's not like it'd matter.”

Gakushuu tilted his head in thought before shrugging and quietly calling for the other. With a flash of light only they could see, the small being appeared out of the crystal and floated up to sit on Gakushuu’s shoulder. 

“Watching a movie sounds nice.” he said simply. 

Well, Gakushuu supposed that was that, then. Soon after, they reached the theater and Gakushuu decided to just go along with whatever movie the other two decided on. After their tickets were purchased, Gakushuu found himself at the snack counter buying popcorn, candy, and soda. The prices were ridiculous, but it wasn't like he couldn't afford it. 

He munched on some of his popcorn while he waited for the others to finish making their purchases. 

Karma raised an eyebrow at the amount of candy and popcorn Gakushuu was currently holding, causing the strawberry blonde to scowl defensively. “What?” he demanded. “I didn't have enough time to eat breakfast this morning.”

Lifting his hands in a placating motion, Karma was clearly doing his best to repress a smirk at getting under the other’s skin so easily.

Nagisa walked over to the other two, his popcorn in one hand and his soda in the other, and sighed at the scene in front of him. They had been pretty peaceful so far, and he was just hoping that that would hold up. He didn't want to deal with them fighting and getting them all kicked out or something. 

Karma blinked down at a box of chocolate candies Gakushuu bought, a thoughtful look on his face. “Ooo, I didn't see those when I bought my candy! Share with me?” 

Leveling a dry look at the redhead, Gakushuu sighed tiredly. “If you try to eat more than half the box, I'm snapping your wrist.”

Karma, looking much more excited over being threatened than any sane person _should_ be, nodded cheerfully. “Sure thing!”

Behind them, Nagisa sighed. _He’s absolutely going to try and steal as much as he can._

They slowly made their way to their seats, Gakushuu taking the aisle seat closest to the exit in case he needed to leave, Karma in the middle to mooch off of Gakushuu’s snacks, and Nagisa at the end. 

Vexus floated down a bit before getting his chosen’s attention. “Hey kid,” he called, “give me some popcorn.”

Blinking in surprise at the sudden request, Gakushuu wordlessly offered a piece to the being, low enough to be out of sight to anyone watching. The three of them watched in vague awe as the piece of popcorn seemed to just _vanish_ when Vexus lifted it to his face.

“...You eat things?” Gakushuu finally questioned. “Was I supposed to be giving you food this whole time?” He supposed he should feel bad for possibly starving the other.

He didn’t really. But he still probably _should._

Vexus shifted into a very tiny fox and laughed lightly at him. “I don't _need_ to eat, but I do find it enjoyable occasionally.”

Karma’s eyes took on a dangerous glint. “Say, have you ever tried wasabi or hot sauce before?” his tone deceptively casual.

The guide glared up at the redhead. “Don't even think about it, brat.”

Gakushuu smirked inwardly at the pout on Karma’s face. He looked remarkably like a kid that got their new toy taken from them. The redhead looked as though he was going to say something else, but just as he was gearing up the ads ended and the opening of the movie began. 

Vexus floated up to sit on Gakushuu’s head and watch from there, nuzzling in to get comfortable, still in his fox form. 

Gakushuu found himself getting lost in his thoughts, not particularly interested in the movie. He thought over the past few days. Everything had happened so quickly after the crystal came into his life that Gakushuu felt vaguely like he was in a goddamn whirlwind.

It felt like only yesterday he was in the main campus, wielding power that no normal student had, surrounded by his minions and the other members of the top class. 

(And Ren, who was closer to a friend than a minion, _but he didn't need to know that.)_

And now he was stuck in the lowest class with responsibilities he never asked for and even _less_ sleep than he was getting before, which he didn't actually think was possible. His favorite nights were now the rare ones where _no_ starless showed up at all and he got to sleep through the whole night. 

His standards had dropped quite a bit, in all honesty.

The other students (not counting Nagisa and Karma, naturally) had yet to try and engage him in conversation. Instead they just whispered to each other about him at a distance. 

So, business as usual really.

The teachers were interesting enough he supposed. Koro-sensei had proven himself to be a capable, though _incredibly_ eccentric, teacher. Karasuma-sensei had gained Gakushuu’s respect rather quickly with his businesslike no-nonsense attitude.

His first meeting with the class’s English teacher had been… _interesting_ to say the least. The woman had been ecstatic to find that, not only did Gakushuu already speak English, he spoke three other languages as well. She then attempted to ‘reward’ him for it by kissing him. 

Certainly not how he wanted to lose his first kiss, thanks.

Thankfully, due to his reflexes and quick thinking, he managed to quickly snap his binder shut and put it in front of his face just in time to block her and send a deadpan, “No thank you.” her way. 

Her offended face had sent most of the class off into fits of laughter, so he supposed it must be pretty acceptable to them to piss her off. 

The class’s name for her made sense pretty soon into the lesson, he felt. 

All in all, so far he couldn't say that he was hating the class as much as he had expected to. Plus, the building being on top of a deserted mountain surrounded by a forest made it much easier to sneak off to fight starless when he needed to, unlike the security at the main campus. 

He once had to climb out of a _fifth story window_ and scale down the entire building just to get away!

It was honestly a bit ridiculous.

With an inaudible sigh, he made himself focus on the movie in front of them. From what he could gather it seemed to be a generic action movie of some sort. The more he watched of it, the less impressed he was. The fight scenes were barely realistic and the stunts were so obviously faked that it was almost amusing.

He supposed that having your entire life turn into its own sort of action movie really put a damper on things like this. 

Oh well. He didn't much like movies anyway.

Roughly an hour into the movie however, he felt Vexus trying to get his attention along with the beginning of a very faint ringing in his ears and an internal pull directing him on where to go. 

With a sigh, he leaned over to Karma and whispered lowly, “Starless emergency. I have to go.”

Karma looked at him consideringly for a moment before glancing at the action movie, then at Nagisa with a raised eyebrow in a silent question. 

Nagisa looked between them both before aiming a smile and a nod at Karma. 

Thoroughly confused, Gakushuu glanced between the two before Karma put him out of his misery by whispering back lowly, “We’re coming too.”

“If you don't mind.” Nagisa tacked on politely.

Gakushuu blinked at them in surprise. “Well I won't stop you, but it'll be dangerous.”

If anything, that made their smiles grow. How exactly did he end up with the two adrenaline junkies in the class again?

...Then again, he supposed he had no room to talk.

_“Kid.”_ Vexus hissed, trying to redirect his attention to the current problem. 

Gakushuu nodded to indicate that he heard him and gestured for the other two to follow him out. They made their way out of the building and Gakushuu let the pull in his mind to the starless direct his feet as he glanced at the two joining him. “So why are you joining me instead of finishing the movie?”

Karma shrugged as they swerved into a wooded area and jumped over a fallen tree. “Why bother sticking around to watch an obviously fake fight scene when we can go see the real thing instead?”

Rolling his eyes, Gakushuu replied warningly, “Don't get your hopes up. Sometimes the fights are rather boring and easy.”

“That's okay!” Nagisa piped up. “Honestly, I think it's better if we’re with you anyway, so we can help if you get injured in your fight.” He aimed a smile up at the strawberry blonde, “I know you could probably handle yourself even if you were alone, but it's still good to have backup just in case.”

Gakushuu found himself blinking down at the other in surprise before nodding silently in reply, not really having a response for that. 

Karma huffed a quiet laugh at the surprised and confused look on Asano’s face at that. Nagisa really did tend to have that effect on people. Sometimes it felt like he was too nice to be real.

They skid to a stop as the starless came into view, their eyes wide. There, standing in the middle of the clearing, was a large crow-shaped starless. It stood just under the height of the trees, its beak and talons long and razor-sharp. Surrounding it was a flock of many other crow-like starless, however these appeared to be the size of normal birds. 

Karma let out a low whistle as the large starless spread its wings, taking up the entire clearing with its wingspan alone, and _shrieked_ at them, high and loud. 

The smaller starless answered its call as they all began to shriek back to it.

“Defend!” Gakushuu called, a burst of light shooting out of the crystal at his neck and forming into the glowing sword they saw a few days before. He caught it by the hilt as it appeared in the air. 

He turned to look at them and spoke seriously, “They’re able to sense the presence of the crystal, so just stay out of the way and they should only go after me.”

After receiving a nod from them both, he spun on his heel and ran into the fray, immediately slicing through two of the smaller birds with one swing. 

Vexus decided to stay with the two of them so he could warn them if he sensed any stray starless on their way to attack them. 

“He's pretty impressive.” Nagisa remarked lowly, not wanting to distract the strawberry blonde from the fight. They watched as the teen ducked into a roll to get away from a dive attack from one of the birds, somehow managing not to lose his grip on the sword in the process. 

“I agree.” Vexus added with a nod, now back to his normal amorphous form. “His attitude and lack of morals aside, he really _is_ the most efficient Chosen I've ever worked with.”

Karma glanced over at the floating guide. “So you don't think the Shard could have picked a more suitable Chosen then?”

Vexus seemed to shake his head. “No, the Shard has never been wrong. It must have seen something in him that made it pick him over all the other options.” He sighed, “Besides, I am the Guardian of the Cosmic Shard and the Guide of the Chosen. It's not my place to question the Shard’s decisions. My jobs are just to keep it safe and to mentor the new Chosen after they've been picked. That's all.”

There was a beat of silence before Vexus quietly added, “Sometimes… there are cases where the Chosen needs the Shard just as much as the Shard needs the Chosen. Even if they don't realize it.”

Karma tilted his head in thought as he considered that before letting his eyes drift back over to the fight. Having defeated a good chunk of the smaller starless, Asano was now attempting to sneak up behind the largest bird by moving around quickly so it couldn’t quite get a lock on the Shard’s position. He darted to the side of it and used one of the bird’s large wings as a springboard to launch himself onto its back. 

The starless screeched in anger as it felt him land on his back and began to flap its wings wildly in an attempt to dislodge him. When that didn’t work, it flapped its wings once and launched itself high into the air. 

Startling at the sudden movement, Gakushuu plunged the sword into the starless’s back and used it as an anchor to keep from falling off. Keeping a tight grip on the sword, he began to try and gain his footing, now even higher up in the air. Finally managing to get a stable stance on its back, he ripped the sword from where it was plunged and began slowly making his way to the front of the bird, impeded by the high speeds of the wind, nearly losing his footing multiple times. 

Finally reaching the front of the bird, he panted once before ruthlessly stabbing the sword into the back of its neck before ripping it out and plunging it directly into the back of its head. 

The bird let out one final shriek before it began to fall out of the sky, dead from the last hit. 

“Disperse!” Gakushuu commanded as he fell, holding his hand out in the direction of the carcass, watching with a grim satisfaction as its body fractured and vanished into specks of light. 

There was a problem however.

Gakushuu was still plummeting to the earth at high speeds.

Wordlessly and in a panic, he reached out to the feeling in his mind that he knew belonged to the Shard’s consciousness and silently asked for help. Getting his answer in the form of suddenly knowing what to do, Gakushuu opened his mouth and commanded loudly, _“Float!”_

A white glow suddenly enveloped his body and he could _feel_ his descent slowing rapidly until he was just drifting down gently like a falling petal. Feeling a bit silly, but deciding to be polite anyway, he sent a wordless thanks to the crystal in his mind. Death by being flattened was _not_ how he wanted to go out, after all. 

He wasn’t sure if the crystal really understood gratitude, but he got a warm feeling back for his thanks, so he decided that was good enough. 

When he reached the treeline he aimed for a large branch and slowly let his feet touch it before the glow faded completely. He carefully scaled down the tree to find Karma and Nagisa already there, looking a little out of breath. 

“That starless carried you pretty far.” Vexus explained while the other two boys were busy catching their breath. “They had to run to keep you in sight.”

Nagisa exhaled slowly, looking reluctantly amused. “You really scared us when you started falling, you know?”

“Pfft,” Karma huffed, “I wasn’t worried.” His arms were crossed and he wasn't looking directly at Gakushuu, but his face was a bit pale.

Nagisa only wordlessly raised an eyebrow in his direction, but said nothing. 

Gakushuu sighed. “I still have to go back and take down those other starless before I can go home.” He looked into the distance and saw that the sun was beginning to set. “If you guys want to go home now you can. It’s getting a bit late, after all.”

Karma shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “Nah, I might as well stick around a while longer. It’s not like I have much else to do.”

Nagisa smiled. “Besides, we might as well keep you company until you finish up here. You already took care of most of the starless anyway."

Careful to keep the small smile off his face that was threatening to form, he did his best to push down the growing fondness he could feel building for these two as he responded lightly, “Do as you will then.”

He turned on his heel and made his way back to the gathering of the starless, feeling the now familiar weight of Vexus settling down on the top of his head. Behind him, he could hear Nagisa and Karma chatting casually about how boring the movie was earlier. 

Maybe…

Maybe he could get used to this.


	6. Chapter 6

Imagine Gakushuu’s surprise when, a couple of days later, he received a text from Nagisa as he left his house asking if he wanted to meet up to parkour with him and some of the other students as a shortcut on the way to school.

_Sounds dangerous,_ he thought, raising an eyebrow at his phone. He texted back,

**Yeah, sure. I'll go.**

_What do I care about danger these days anyway? I don't even think falling off a building will kill me now._

He texted letting Nagisa know he’d be a bit late and asked if he wouldn't mind waiting for him at a nearby cafe instead.

Nagisa texted back that that was more than fine, so Gakushuu changed direction and made his way to Nagisa’s location. When he finally got there he bought the blue haired boy a cookie in apology for making him wait despite the other claiming it wasn't necessary. Then after a moment of thinking, bought two cookies for himself. He stashed one in his bag and began eating the other as they made their way to the location the others were at. Thankfully he didn't need to buy coffee, as he already had his thermos in his bag.

“I didn't specifically tell them I was coming,” Nagisa was saying as they got closer, “it was just an open invitation for anyone who wanted to join. I hope they haven't left yet!”

Gakushuu shrugged at the mildly concerned look on the other’s face. “Even if they have, we’re pretty fast. We can just catch up to them.”

And sure enough when they got to the area everyone was supposed to meet up at, they could see them all a bit ahead, already jumping across rooftops. 

Gakushuu cracked his knuckles and looked down at the other. “Well, let's go then.”

Nagisa nodded, grinning brightly as they both darted forward at the same time. First by jumping a fence, then they began scaling the wall of the building. They raced across the roof of the building and took a running leap to the next. 

Distantly, Gakushuu found himself thankful he had gone ahead the day before and actually bought a pair of combat boots. He had the feeling that his old shoes would have slipped right off of his feet at that jump. 

Jumping from roof to roof, Gakushuu let himself enjoy the freedom of being able to do something like this, along with the feeling of exhilaration that came from doing something the average person couldn't do. Finding himself enjoying the wind in his hair, he decided to do a flip through the air as he jumped to the next roof, a grin threatening to overtake his face.

Just when they were really getting the hang of it however, they heard a crash up ahead. Stopping in their tracks, Gakushuu motioned for Nagisa to stay quiet and follow him as he made his way down the side of the building. 

Silently, they made their way down the alleyway and peeked out, thankfully still hidden from view, at what had transpired. Nagisa’s eyes widened and Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at the sight of the toppled over old man. 

Looking at the scene, it wasn't too hard to guess what had happened. 

Nagisa moved to walk forward but Gakushuu pulled him back. The blue haired boy shot him a confused look and Gakushuu just gestured for him to follow him. 

They silently walked down a few more streets and alleys to get even further away before Gakushuu decided it was safe enough to talk at a regular volume. “There's no point in joining them right now.” he said. 

Nagisa furrowed his brows, “But we have to help-”

Gakushuu cut him off. “Do you know how to set a bone?” he asked. 

Hesitating, Nagisa slowly shook his head. 

“Exactly.” Gakushuu said. “If we go back, we’ll just get scolded. However, no one else saw us, so no one can even say that we were here at all.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued, “In situations like this where staying won't help anything and leaving will save you some trouble, you might as well just leave.”

Nagisa frowned. He could see what he meant about not being able to help. There was already a large group of students there, so even if they joined they wouldn't be able to do anything to improve the situation. But still, “But we’re responsible too.” he stated. 

Gakushuu just raised an eyebrow. “I'm sorry, did _you_ land on an old man?” At Nagisa’s hesitant shake of the head, he continued on, “Exactly. Neither did I. All we did was jump across some rooftops. Which, possibly was not a _great_ idea I'll admit, but also not that bad. People parkour through cities all the time.”

Blinking slowly in thought, Nagisa nodded. He… _did_ have a point, actually. “I feel kind of bad, but you're not wrong. What should we do instead?”

Vexus chose that moment to float out of the Shard. “You're a terrible influence, kid.” he deadpanned at Gakushuu who smiled politely in return.

“I'm a wonderful influence.” The strawberry blonde shot back lightly. “I'm teaching selective accountability. There's no use getting into trouble for something if you can just avoid it. Besides, as I've said, we didn't actually do anything wrong.”

Vexus narrowed his eyes at his chosen. “Uh huh. And how would you have handled the situation if you _had_ been the one to land on that man?”

Gakushuu tilted his head slightly at the question. “Me?” he asked. “If I was the one who landed on him, I would have paid him off enough to cover his hospital bills _and_ his silence.” His smile grew a bit sharper around the edges, his eyes a bit colder. “It would have been a win-win situation, of course. As long as he kept his end of the bargain.”

Nagisa felt his eyes widen slightly at the dark aura emanating from the other. _I think I'd forgotten until just now…_

_...exactly how scary he can be._

Vexus somehow looked like he was going through every stage of grief at once, which Nagisa was silently impressed by, given the limited features the being had to work with. 

Gakushuu, blatantly ignoring his guide, turned to Nagisa and gave him a cheerful smile, unnerving him a little in the process. “So, since class is either going to be canceled today, or it won't be canceled but everyone will just be sad or angry, let's pick the third option.”

Nagisa blinked up at him curiously, forgetting his earlier trepidation. “Third option?”

Nodding solemnly, Gakushuu pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contacts before selecting someone and putting it on speakerphone as he called them. 

As the call connected, a confused but familiar voice responded, “Hello?”

_“Karma?”_ Nagisa blurted, not expecting to hear his friend’s voice. 

“Nagisa?” Karma questioned, “Why are you calling from Asano’s phone?”

Gakushuu chose that moment to smoothly cut in, “Actually, I'm the one calling. I have a proposition.”

“Oh?” Karma asked, his raised eyebrow almost audible in his tone. “And what would that be?”

Gakushuu smiled, something almost _impish_ in his tone when he responded,

“Instead of going to school, how do you feel about taking an ice cream day instead?”

\--

That's how they found themselves sitting in Karma’s room an hour later eating ice cream cones and watching movies. 

“So!” Karma declared as he walked back into the room with a large bag of chips he grabbed from the kitchen, “I think we should celebrate! Today is the first day Ace-kun has ever _willingly_ skipped an entire day of school, and that's truly a special occasion.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes at both the nickname and the overdramatic tone the other used. “Maybe it's something to celebrate for delinquents like you, but for normal people it's hardly something to get festive over.” 

“I hate to be the one to tell you this,” Karma began, looking not at all like he hated to tell him this, but instead looking _highly amused_ , “but you are currently a delinquent.”

Gakushuu wrinkled his nose in distaste. “I am _not.”_ he denied. “Besides today, all of my skipping has been involuntary.”

Karma hummed as though he was thinking that over, “Perhaps, but you _have_ been lying about why you were skipping in pretty outrageous ways.”

“Well I could hardly tell the truth.” Gakushuu shot back impassively, raising an eyebrow.

Karma smirked. “True, but you _also_ could at least try to make up something that sounded believable. Instead you tend to go for obvious lies because you like fucking with people.”

“It's not really that-”

“Yesterday,” Karma said, interrupting him with a devilish grin, “you told Koro-sensei that there was a very long line of old grandmas that needed help crossing the street, but that they all hated each other and didn't want to be near the rest so you had to slowly take them across the street one by one and _that_ was why you were three hours late to his lesson.”

Gakushuu’s lips twitched up involuntarily at the edges at the memory of the octopus’s reaction to that. It was almost incredible how dramatic and expressive he could be with his face constantly stuck in that smile.

“Plus there's the fact that, the first time we went for ice cream, you _could_ have gone back to class at that point, but instead chose to leave with us to get a snack instead.” Pointing his finger at him theatrically, Karma helpfully concluded his speech with just, _“Delinquent.”_

Frowning at the label that went against everything he had ever stood for, Gakushuu opened his mouth to protest…

A beat of silence passed.

...He slowly closed his mouth, having nothing to say to that. With a groan he let himself flop back onto Karma’s bed, annoyed with the entire world. At Karma’s snickering, Gakushuu snatched one of the pillows from the bed and pitched it at him, eye twitching in irritation.

Karma, silently thanking his fast reflexes, caught it just before it could collide with his face. With an amused chuckle at the disappointed look the other sported when the pillow didn't hit its intended target, Karma gently tossed the pillow back onto the bed.

“Do you think that I count as a delinquent as well?”

Gakushuu’s and Karma’s heads both snapped to the side at the thoughtful question from Nagisa, both of them having somehow managed to forget that there was someone else in the room with them. He was perched on the couch at the side of the room, looking at them curiously.

“Well,” Gakushuu began dryly after recovering from his surprise, “you _do_ tend to skip school as much as we do.” 

Karma crossed his arms as he thought it over. “Honestly, I’d say you’re a delinquent by association.” He grinned as he shot a look out of the corner of his eyes to the boy currently laying on his bed, “In fact, I'd say that we’re both pretty terrible influences on you, Nagisa.”

Gakushuu frowned at being called that by _Akabane_ of all people, but he didn't really have any arguments to offer to the contrary. So instead he yanked the bag of chips out of the redhead’s hands and shoved some into his mouth.

"Wh- hey!" Karma yelled, offended by the thievery. 

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and tossed the bag back. "Your taste in chips sucks."

"I think your taste buds are just broken."

Gakushuu just hummed in response as he pulled the chocolate chip cookie he bought earlier out from his bag, then raised an amused eyebrow when he saw the look the redhead was shooting it. "Do you want some?" he finally asked, deciding to just put the other out of his misery. 

Karma smiled brightly at him with wide, pleading eyes.

Shaking his head at how ridiculous the redhead was, Gakushuu broke the (thankfully rather large) cookie down the middle and handed half to the annoyance that was now sitting beside him. "Just don't be stingy with your snacks if I ask for some." he requested as he handed it over.

Already shoving half of it into his mouth, Karma just garbled back a cheerful, "Sure!"

The redhead was so preoccupied with the cookie that he didn't notice Nagisa raising his eyebrow at him as he glanced between the two of them. _Somehow their personalities manage to both clash horribly and match rather well._ The blue haired boy stretched a bit in his seat, lost in thought. _I wonder what will come of it._ Hearing a ding, he glanced down at his phone and checked the class’s group chat. _Ah, that'll probably be about what happened earlier. I'll have to act like I have no idea what went on today._

After he read through what everyone had to say about the incident, he found himself almost selfishly glad that he let Asano drag him away from the scene. Apparently not only had the others gotten yelled at, but Koro-sensei had also _slapped_ them. He shuddered at the mental image of the teacher he admired so much being _that_ upset with him.

He looked up as he put his phone away and waved to get their attention. “Um, so I think I have a lot of news for you both about what happened today.”

Gakushuu and Karma both leaned in at that, curious as to what happened in their absence, unconsciously mirroring each other. 

“It seems like we’ll be working at a school for younger kids tomorrow.”


	7. Chapter 7

Now.

It wasn't quite accurate to say that Gakushuu _hated_ children. 

He really didn't! 

He just… had a few _minor_ issues with them. 

Namely that they were loud. And sticky. And occasionally smelly.

And obnoxious. 

…

Well, he could admit that he wasn't particularly _fond_ of them. It wasn't like this was a new development anyway. Even as a kid he didn't like other kids. Back then, the other children he knew all seemed so stupid and _loud._

Ren excluded, of course. The only thing Ren had been interested in as a child was reading silently in a corner. They had ended up getting along famously, because that was really all Gakushuu wanted to do too.

...He was going to have to stop avoiding Ren at _some_ point. 

But that point was not right now.

…

Alright, so he _may_ just be stalling going back to the rest of his class. For no particular reason, of course.

Gakushuu was currently putting very little effort into killing a medium sized starless that looked a bit like what he imagined a moose crossed with an alligator would look like. Black sludge dripped from its many teeth, its antlers seemed to be something closer to multiple knives strapped together than anything like normal antlers. 

He supposed the creature _would_ be a bit more terrifying… if it were taller.

As it was, however, this starless only barely came up to his hip. Moreover, it wasn't particularly fast either. ...It _also_ wasn’t very coordinated. With its head constantly overbalancing its too-thin legs, it repeatedly had to stop moving just so it wouldn’t topple over. Gakushuu almost felt bad for it.

_Almost._

The longer he spent toying with the creature instead of just outright killing it, the more distinctly _unamused_ the look Vexus was shooting him became. “Kid, please just put it out of its misery. This is getting painful to watch.”

Gakushuu’s response was just to dodge its attack once more instead of attacking back, letting the creature run headfirst into a tree, its horns getting stuck. 

After watching it struggle to unstick itself for a few more minutes, Gakushuu sighed and brought his sword down on it, killing it quickly. 

“Disperse.”

After watching the body fade away into specks of light, Gakushuu returned the sword into the Shard, annoyed that the fight didn't last longer. 

Vexus sent him a deadpan look, already knowing why the teen had done his best to draw the fight out. “Kid, I know you don't like children, but this is a little ridiculous. You can't just avoid showing up for the next two weeks.”

Gakushuu crossed his arms stubbornly. “Watch me.”

_“Kid.”_

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Gakushuu sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’m not _actually_ planning to skip the entire time. I’m just… putting it off a bit.”

Vexus seemed to raise an eyebrow at him as he responded, “I didn’t take you as the type to run away from things, brat.” his voice unimpressed. 

Gakushuu scowled darkly at the being that now resembled a particularly judgmental cat. “I’m hardly _running away.”_

“Uh huh.”

Gakushuu stared him down for a moment longer before, eye twitching mildly in irritation, he turned on his heel and marched in the direction he knew his classmates were currently working. 

_Ugh._

\--

“Oh, look who finally decided to show up!” Karma called after seeing Asano emerge from the woods, Vexus perched on his shoulder. 

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at him as he got closer. “I was busy. The better question here is, why are you in a suit of armor?”

Karma grinned brightly at him. “We put on a play for the kids!” A mischievous glint entered his eyes as he continued, “The kids _loved_ watching me beat up Terasaka!”

_“I heard that Akabane!”_

Both ignoring Terasaka’s outburst, Gakushuu put his hands on his hips, “I’m glad I wasn’t around then. I don’t doubt for a second that you would have tried to volunteer me for his position instead.” 

Karma’s smile gained a few more teeth at that. “Ohh~? You know me so well, Ace-kun!”

“Unfortunately.” 

“Besides,” Karma continued on as though he hadn’t spoken, “if you were my opponent, the fight would have been much more interesting for the kids!”

Rio, walking by with a stack of boxes, laughed at that. “If the fight was between you two, it wouldn’t have been _appropriate_ for the kids!” She cackled once more at the looks on their faces before carrying the boxes into the building.

Gakushuu glanced around, eager to change the subject, “So, where’s Nagisa at?” As much as it pained him to admit it, Gakushuu spent most of his time in the class with the two of them, the other students still too wary of him to approach. They insisted on joining him for lunch, which confused him because, what _exactly_ were they gaining from it? But he never really managed to work up the desire to tell them to stop.

Karma shrugged. “He got stuck tutoring some kid. She seems like a real handful, honestly.”

Lips twitching up, Gakushuu responded lightly, “I don’t think you’re in the right position to be calling anyone _else_ a handful, Akabane.”

Almost despite himself, Karma felt his own amusement grow at that jab, pleased that the other now felt comfortable enough to banter with him casually. Most people were too afraid of offending him, but he was pretty sure there was nothing he could do that would truly scare Asano away.

He got the feeling that Asano felt the same way, actually. 

“I could say the same about you.” Karma shot back.

Gakushuu blinked back at him, blatantly false innocence in his gaze. “I don’t know what you mean.” he drawled, hand to his chest and voice dripping with honey. “I’m a delight.”

Vexus and Karma _both_ snorted at that. 

There was suddenly a brief gust of wind and then, “Asano-kun!”

Gakushuu turned around to look at their ever-grinning teacher who hadn’t been standing there seconds prior. “Yes?” he asked, unimpressed. 

“Normally I would scold you for being so late, but you’ve actually arrived right on time!” Koro-sensei proclaimed happily. “One of the students got pulled away from tutoring one of the children because the building crew needed an extra set of hands, and you’re the perfect substitute to stand in for them!”

“You want me to tutor the child then?” he found himself asking, hoping for an escape route. “Are there no other open positions?”

“Nope!”

With that, he was whisked away by Koro-sensei, Karma’s laughter at his predicament growing fainter as they went. Gakushuu surveyed the building as he was brought inside. It was a little run-down, but it was obvious that his classmates were attempting to change that. He raised an eyebrow at a blueprint he spotted in the corner of the room. An ambitious looking project, but not _im_ possible he supposed.

Especially with the help of a super-powered octopus. 

“Alright, Asano-kun,” Koro-sensei said as they came across a child sitting alone at the back of the room, “This is Shinji-kun. You’ll be tutoring him for the next two weeks.” 

The child looked up at them at that, his bright green eyes hidden behind thick rimmed glasses. Messy brown hair covered his head and fell into his eyes. “Hello.” he greeted quietly. 

Gakushuu nodded back in greeting before sitting next to him. When he looked back up, Koro-sensei had already disappeared, off to help with some other part of the project. Gakushuu sighed at the situation he found himself in.

Gakushuu was used to tutoring people. He tutored most of class A while he was still in it, all of them coming to him for help when they couldn't understand their teacher, which was rather often. The problem wasn't that he didn't know how to tutor someone. 

The problem was that he didn't know how to tutor a _child._

“How old are you?” he decided to ask, knowing that would end up being useful information. 

Shinji blinked up at him. “Oh, um... I'm nine.”

Gakushuu nodded and filed that piece of information away. “And what do you need help with?”

Shinji’s face reddened slightly and he stared down at the table, fidgeting with his fingers as he replied, “Pretty much everything, actually.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at that but was careful to keep his voice even as he asked, “Everything? As in, every subject?”

The boy nodded once more, his embarrassment clearly growing at the admission. 

“I don't think that'll be too difficult honestly.”

Shinji’s head snapped up at that, not expecting him to be okay with having to teach him so much.

Gakushuu met his stare with the gentle smile he normally used in the main campus to calm down nervous students. “I've tutored people for quite a few years now, so there's no need to worry. I think two weeks will be plenty.”

A hopeful smile beginning to grow on his face, Shinji nodded back and got his books out. 

Watching absently as Vexus made himself cozy on the table in front of them, Gakushuu stretched his arms out over his head and got comfortable as well. He got the feeling he’d be sitting in this spot for quite a while, after all. 

\--

Three days had passed since he first began tutoring Shinji, and thankfully he had only needed to leave to take care of a starless twice during those three days. Both times he asked Karma to take over the tutoring instead while he was gone, which strangely the redhead seemed to have no issue doing. Though, he noticed that Shinji always looked a bit relieved when Gakushuu came back afterwards. He found himself trying to speed his fights up just a bit, so that he wouldn't have to leave Shinji alone with Karma for _too_ long. He was a bit surprised himself that he was factoring this child's comfort into what he was doing, but Shinji had proven to be a particularly agreeable child. He wasn't loud or obnoxious and he listened and asked questions when Gakushuu was tutoring him.

It was halfway through the third day when Gakushuu finally decided to let his curiosity get the best of him. “Shinji,” he began, looking over at the shy boy who was currently studying a science book, “there's something I don't understand here.” He continued on as the boy looked up at him curiously, “You're far from an unintelligent child. In fact, I'd say you're rather bright for a nine year old. So why is it that you're so behind in your studies?”

Shinji’s eyes widened at the question, clearly unsure of what to say. “I…” he trailed off slowly, looking away. 

Gakushuu found himself feeling strangely concerned. He hadn't meant to make the boy uncomfortable, he was just confused as to why a child that seemed to enjoy learning and soaked up information like a sponge would be falling behind.

“Hey, it's alright.” he found himself saying. “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just curious.”

Shinji didn't look back up, but after a few minutes he quietly said, “My family... doesn't really have a lot of money, and my dad used to say that I didn't deserve books because they costed money and I already took up enough of that by eating food.” His voice got even quieter if possible, an almost imperceptible shake to it, “My parents divorced a few weeks ago, so I don't really see my dad anymore, but my mom still doesn't have enough money to send me to a good school yet. This was the only place mom could afford.” He pointed at the books in front of him, clearly worn down with age, "These belong to the school. They let me use them cause I don't have my own yet."

Gakushuu stared at him blankly for a long while, struck silent. 

That was… a _lot_ to process. 

After a few more moments spent collecting himself, Gakushuu began mentally making preparations for the future. Before he could start anything however, there was a more pressing matter at hand currently.

Shinji still looked miserable.

Gakushuu hummed quietly for a second before beginning softly, “Hey, Shinji?”

Shinji looked up, eyes a bit watery but (thankfully) not crying. “Yeah?”

“Do you have any hobbies?” the strawberry blonde asked. “Or anything you're interested in?”

The boy blinked in confusion before nodding. “I um, I like flowers? And I think I like reading. And drawing is fun sometimes.”

Gakushuu nodded in understanding, an encouraging smile on his face. “I've always liked reading as well, and I have a friend that grows flowers in his free time.” He leaned in conspiratorially, strangely more invested in cheering up this child than he thought he'd be, “I can't really help you with the first two right now, but as for the third one,” he pointed over to Sugaya, who was currently drawing a very detailed picture of one of the students, much to the amazement of all the nearby children, “if you want to talk to someone about art or tips on how to get better at it, you should ask him. As far as I've heard, he loves talking about art, so you won't have to worry about bothering him.”

Shinji stared wide-eyed in the silver haired teen's direction before slowly looking back up at Gakushuu and beaming happily, a noticeable gap in his teeth from a lost baby tooth. “Thank you!” the boy chirped excitedly to him before running over to talk to the silver haired teen.

There was a moment of silence.

“Shut up Vexus.” Gakushuu muttered quietly. 

“I haven't said anything yet, brat.” Vexus countered, amusement clear in his voice. 

“I can _feel_ your smugness from here.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Vexus began mock-innocently. “I'm just wondering when you're going to start looking up adoption papers is all.”

Gakushuu’s eyebrow twitched. “I'm not getting attached. That's ridiculous.”

“Uh huh.”

“I'm _not.”_

“Sure.”

Gakushuu crossed his arms and scowled. Vexus was just being absurd. He was only acting as a good tutor. That was all.

Completely ridiculous. 


	8. Chapter 8

The next day Gakushuu’s school bag was much fuller than normal, weighing heavily where it was slung over his shoulder.

Thankful that he actually managed to arrive on time, he gently set the bag down on the table in front of Shinji as the boy looked up, curious as to what he was doing. He sat down and began pulling a few books out and stacked them on the table. 

“So,” he began, “when I got home yesterday I decided to check if I still had some of my old school books from when I was your age, and it turns out that I did.”

Shinji blinked, wide-eyed at the stack of books. “I can _use_ these?” he asked, awe in his voice.

Gakushuu shrugged. “You can keep them, honesty. _I_ hardly need them now.” Then he remembered something and pulled out a few more books, “And these are some old fantasy books I never read anymore.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste, “I completely forgot that they were taking up space on my bookshelf. You'd honestly be doing me a favor by taking them off my hands.” 

He was playing it up a bit so Shinji wouldn't feel bad about it or think it was just pity. Gakushuu _had_ actually enjoyed the books when he was younger, but it had been years since he’d read any of them. Instead of gathering dust on his shelf, why not just put them to better use?

_( ~~He was very carefully not thinking about~~ _ ~~why _he had stopped reading them. Stopped reading_ any _fictional stories._ ~~

_~~Very carefully not thinking about his father’s cold words and even colder looks and insistence that fictional stories were for immature children-~~ ) _

Shinji’s bright smile and awed noises as he flipped through the book on the top of the pile snapped Gakushuu’s thoughts out of the dark direction they had begun to spiral in, the boy looking back up at him with such genuine admiration that he was almost shocked. 

The students at the main campus had always given him looks of admiration, but there had always been a layer of _fear_ underneath their reverence. 

But... this was different somehow. 

“Thanks, Asano-san!” Shinji cheered brightly, eyes eagerly roving over the books, trying to decide which to read first. 

Lips twitching up slightly at the corner, Gakushuu added lightly, “No reading those while I'm tutoring you, though.” At the sight of the boy deflating he added, “But you can read during lunch. As long as you remember to eat.”

The boy immediately perked back up at that, eyes bright with gratitude and excitement.

Pulling one of the school books closer, Gakushuu began with a small yawn, “Let’s start with science today…”

\--

It was a few hours into the lesson when Shinji looked over at him after seeing him chug a third shot of espresso. “Asano-san?” he asked. 

“Yes?”

“Why are you always so tired?”

Gakushuu paused for a moment before turning to look at the boy, a lie ready on the tip of his tongue. Hesitating, he tilted his head in consideration before sighing.

_Oh fuck it._ He thought, mentally throwing his hands up, too tired to really care. _It doesn’t matter if I tell him the truth. Plus, he’s a kid anyway so it’s not like anyone would take him seriously if he shared it._

“Okay, but you can't tell anyone.” he whispered, a small conspiratorial smile on his face. At Shinji's vigorous nodding, he repressed a chuckle and stated, “I fight monsters. And I have to defeat them when they show up, so sometimes I have to get up at night and fight instead of sleep.”

Wide-eyed awe overtook the child’s face. “Really!?” he asked, an excited grin growing steadily larger. “That's so cool!”

Gakushuu nodded. “Yes. It's why I'm so tired during the day and why I sometimes have to leave you with Akabane.” He frowned slightly, “Speaking of which, has he been rude to you? You tend to seem nervous around him.”

Shinji jolted slightly at the question and then blushed a dark red as he looked away. “N-no, he's been nice…” he fidgeted a little in place before continuing, “he’s just… a little scary. He um, he didn't do anything, it's just a feeling I guess.”

Gakushuu laughed softly and smiled to show him he wasn't upset. “You have good instincts.” he stated honestly. Then, leaning in so he wouldn't be overheard saying something that even vaguely _resembled_ a compliment towards the redhead, he whispered, “He just _seems_ scary, really. Unless you really do something awful, the worst you'll ever get from him is a mild prank, so you don't have to worry about it.” Then paused for a minute before adding dryly, “But don't leave him alone with your food. He would absolutely try to sneak wasabi into it.”

Shinji giggled at the other’s tone, previous embarrassment forgotten. “You know Akabane-san really well!” he said, sounding impressed for some reason. 

Gakushuu wrinkled his nose in distaste and ignored the sound of Vexus’s snickering from where he was perched on top of a discarded jacket left on the table. “I don't and I wish I knew even less than I do.” 

His annoyed tone sent Shinji into another burst of giggles. Gakushuu crossed his arms and just waited it out, unable to do anything else. When the boy finally got his laughter under control, Gakushuu decided it was time to get back to business. “Okay, math next.”

_“Aww.”_

\--

On the second to last day at this school, Gakushuu found himself feeling like he might actually end up missing this. 

A few days prior, he had pulled Koro-sensei aside for a moment and suggested that the kids might enjoy having a small garden where they could take care of flowers themselves. Koro-sensei had, of course, been immediately on board, setting some of the students on the building side of things onto the task. Shinji had been _ecstatic_ about that development, excited to grow his own flowers. In a strange burst of ‘oh, why not’, Gakushuu went into a bookstore on his way home and bought the boy a book on flowers.

When he handed the book over there had been a moment of panic where Gakushuu thought Shinji might _actually_ burst into tears. Thankfully, however, he did not. He had just sniffled a bit before shyly thanking Gakushuu. 

The boy was currently taking a break from his studying by practicing some beginner drawing techniques that Sugaya taught him, while Gakushuu spent his time wisely by staring up at the ceiling and praying for part of the roof to cave in and hit him on the head so he could get some decent fucking sleep. 

“Asano-san, can I ask you a question?” Shinji asked, a bit hesitant. 

Looking down at the boy and blinking in surprise at having been pulled out of his (perhaps darker than necessary) thoughts, he responded carefully, “Yes?”

The boy's brows were slightly furrowed in confusion. “Why did you put so much effort into helping me?”

Gakushuu exhaled slowly, then leaned on the table and rested his head in his hand. “There are a few reasons.” he finally decided on saying after a few moments of silence. “But really, the main one is just that I hate to see intelligence wasted.”

Shinji tilted his head as he considered that. “You do?”

Gakushuu nodded. “Personally, I think that if someone has the desire to learn about something, they should be able to.” He sent the boy a tired smile, “You're an intelligent child with a lot of potential. You should be allowed to learn about whatever you want to.”

Eyes once again looking dangerously watery, Shinji opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the building’s teacher approaching. “Shinji-kun!” she called, a smile on her face. 

They both looked up at her as she approached and handed a paper to Shinji. “Your latest report card from us!” she said happily. 

Shinji and Gakushuu both looked down at the paper to read its contents. His grades had gone up tremendously, every single one of them showing improvement.

“Good job.” Gakushuu said with a smile, feeling a strange rush of pride fill him as he congratulated the other. “You worked hard for this.” he patted Shinji’s shoulder as the boy sniffled happily, looking like he couldn't believe it. 

Blinking his tears away, Shinji clutched the paper in his hand and gave Gakushuu an emotional smile. “Thank you, Asano-san. I don't think I would have _ever_ gotten better if you hadn't helped me.”

Gakushuu huffed lightly and shook his head. “You're young, you would have improved over time anyway. I'm happy I could help, though.” And he strangely found that he meant it. This was the first time he had ever really _enjoyed_ tutoring someone.

The stars on Vexus’s body glowed a bit brighter in happiness as he chipped in, “I'm glad he's done so well too. He's really come a long way.”

Gakushuu decided to ignore the proud look the other was sending him, unable to respond to him in public anyway. 

For the rest of the day, Shinji was even more focused on studying than normal. And the faint smile didn't leave the boy’s face for the rest of the day either. 

\--

A faint ringing began to build in his ears on his way out of the school that day. He groaned quietly and changed direction, heading into the woods instead. 

“Hey wait up!” 

Gakushuu blinked and turned to look at who called for him, seeing Karma and Nagisa approaching. “Let me guess.” Gakushuu began dryly. “You want to come too?”

Karma grinned at him, unrepentant. “What, too predictable?”

“Sorry,” Nagisa added with a small smile, “we just noticed it looked like you were headed out to fight a starless and wanted to tag along again.”

Gakushuu just rolled his eyes and gestured for them to follow him. Turning on his heel, he ran into the woods in the direction of the starless.

Hopefully this would be a quick fight.

\--

The fight had, indeed, been rather fast.

When they arrived, there _was_ a large group of starless, but it seemed to just consist of one large rat looking starless and a bunch of smaller mouse shaped ones. The rat one had been a pretty easy target, the only dangerous part having been its teeth.

Currently stabbing idly at the mouse starless when one got within range, he yawned into his free hand.

Karma looked amused. “What,” he asked, “that rocket fuel you drink wearing off?”

Gakushuu aimed a tired glare at him. “It's the end of the day, of course it's wearing off.” He made a silent mental note to just collapse right into bed when he got home, too tired for anything else. 

“Vexus?” Nagisa asked, seemingly out of the blue. “I have a question.”

Vexus, surprised at being addressed so suddenly, looked over at the boy from his perch on Gakushuu’s head. “What is it?”

“Well, it's just…” Nagisa began, tilting his head a bit in curiosity. “Starless come from your dimension, right? So what makes their species so different from yours? They seem similar in some ways, but it doesn’t look like they’re capable of rational thought.” 

Vexus sighed, light from his body dimming as he stayed quiet for a moment, thinking over how he should word what he had to say. “The difference between us,” he began regretfully, “is that there is no difference.”

Gakushuu looked up at that, thoroughly distracted from his previous attempts at skewering a mouse starless that was gnawing at his shoe. _“What?”_

Floating off of the boy's head, Vexus hovered before them, shape vaguely beginning to look like a goldfish. “Do you remember that explosion I told you about? The one that took most of my memories?”

The three boys exchanged a glance before looking back at him and nodded. Something like that was hard to forget.

Slowly bobbing up and down, Vexus continued, “Well, before that explosion, the existence of a starless was incredibly rare. I don't…” he frowned. “I still don't quite remember what causes them, but something happened during that explosion. Something that…”

He sighed. “To put it simply, the starless were once beings like me. Like the rest of our people. Something happened that turned them into…” he turned his gaze sadly down to the fanged mice still trying to attack the holder of the Shard, “...into this.”

Gakushuu frowned, eyebrows slightly furrowed as he looked at his guide. “Is there no way to turn them back?” he asked, glancing down at the few remaining starless. 

Vexus only shook his head. “No, they're all too far gone now. At this point, it's kinder to end them than to let them continue to exist with only blind rage guiding them. They are no longer whoever they once were.”

Feeling a strange surge of pity for them, Gakushuu swung the sword down swiftly and ended the rest of them in one hit. “Disperse.” he commanded, the fallen bodies of the starless beginning to break up and dissolve into light around him. 

Karma stretched, mildly disturbed by the news but not willing to show it. “Man, ‘bad guys that used to be good guys’ is such a cliche. And most of the starless aren't even that strong.” he complained lightly. 

Seeming to cross his arms, which were currently closer to _fins_ than anything, Vexus hissed back acidically, “Don't mock them, brat. Can you even _imagine_ what they've been through? To slowly have everything that was _good_ or _kind_ stripped away from you, leaving behind something that's only a shell of who you used to be?” 

The more Vexus spoke, the more ill Gakushuu felt. Because _yes_. Yes he _did_ know what that was like actually. Knew it a little _too_ well. 

Images began to flash through his mind, one after another in quick succession from his childhood _before_ his father snapped. He had been a kind child, before it all. He knew that already, but he'd done his best to forget it over the years. 

Because how awful was it to remember that fact, and to know that you could never go back to that? To know that the person you would have been, the _better_ version, would never exist. 

There was only the person he was now. Bitter and cynical with his heart _long_ iced over. 

Just like his father wanted.

“Asano?”

Jerking his head up, Gakushuu met Nagisa’s worried gaze. “Are you okay?” the blue haired boy asked. “You got really tense for a moment there.”

Gakushuu’s lips tightened further. “I'm fine.” he answered shortly. “I've had a long day. I think I'll be heading home now.” He suddenly wanted nothing more than to be far from here. Far from these thoughts and memories, and back to the safe numbness he had existed in before.

After giving both of them a brief goodbye, Gakushuu turned and walked in the direction of his house, doing his best to not think of anything at all.

He needed sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

The last day spent at the school had been hectic. 

Well, for everyone else at least.

Gakushuu was personally just lounging back and enjoying the sight of everyone _else_ running around to get everything done before the school principal returned while he did basically nothing. He was only able to get away with this under the guise of tutoring Shinji.

He was not, in fact, tutoring Shinji.

He _was,_ in fact, talking to him about one of the books he'd given him.

Seeing that it was the last day he'd be working here, Gakushuu had only reviewed over the basics of everything he'd taught the boy so far before declaring that that was good enough for the day, and then promptly began to discuss the possible motives of the characters in the book Shinji was currently reading with him. He had to say, he actually found himself impressed by some of the observations the boy made about the book. He was oddly sharp and insightful for a nine year-old. 

What he didn't notice, however, was that the school's principal was back from the hospital and was being shown around by Koro-sensei as they spoke. 

The man in question paused and turned to look in the direction of the hushed voices he heard coming from the side of the room. 

Sitting there was Shinji and an older student he didn't recognize from the school that was volunteering. They had multiple textbooks scattered on the table in front of them, but he wasn't fooled. He hadn't worked as a principal for so long to have _not_ long ago learned how to see through a student’s attempts to _look_ busy instead of actually doing anything. He could see the fantasy book on the table in front of them, just far enough away from them so as to not be too suspicious, after all.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. 

What caught his attention was the fact that Shinji was actually _talking._

Ever since he had first arrived there, Shinji had been a quiet boy that only spoke when asked a direct question, and even _then_ not much. He didn’t smile very often at all and never seemed to talk to any of the other students, always just sitting off the side with an almost sad look on his face. Between that and his low grades, the principal had been worried about the boy, but his hands were too full with running the school and the other students to do much about it. 

But now that same boy was enthusiastically _talking_ , moving his hands around to make his point with an excited smile on his face. The student sitting with him was nodding along to his words, not interrupting him and listening to his points intently, both of them too engaged in the conversation to pay attention to anything around them. 

He seemed happy for once.

Later, after he assured the large octopus that the class’s secret was safe with him and the two were a good distance away from both groups of children so as to not be overheard, he brought up this fact to him. The blue haired child’s work with Sakura had been amazing, but he was also pleased with how the tutoring had affected Shinji.

The octopus chuckled. “Asano-kun is a very capable student, even when he isn't trying, it seems.” He waved a tentacle lightly as he continued, “I had a feeling that he would work best if assigned to a quiet but intelligent child, as I believed he could sympathize with someone like that best.” 

His voice lowered a bit as he continued, “Asano-kun doesn't interact with others much, you see. Even before he came to my class, I got the feeling that he kept his distance from those around him. I'm thankful he seems to have befriended two of my other students recently, but I'm hoping that he too will open up to everyone in his own way soon.” 

Looking over at the student in question far in the distance, he continued fondly, “And I believe this experience has been good for him as well.”

\--

Packing up at the end of the day felt a bit strange after working here for the last two weeks. He glanced down at Shinji who was staring at the cover of the book in front of him, a slight frown on his face. 

“Something wrong?” Gakushuu asked, putting his pencils away.

Shinji jolted a bit at the question, not having noticed he was being observed. “Oh, no I'm fine.” he assured the older boy. “I just…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Gakushuu hummed thoughtfully for a moment before sighing lightly. “I can't promise that I'll be able to do it very often, but if you want I can tutor you sometimes.”

Lighting up immediately, Shinji nodded rapidly at the offer. “Yes please!” he said. He glanced back down at the book and then up again. “And I um,” he trailed off for a moment shyly before continuing, “I want to talk about more books with you in the future, if that's okay? Today was a lot of fun, I mean.”

Lips quirking up a bit at the corner, Gakushuu nodded. “I suppose I don't mind.” He raised an eyebrow down at the other and added, “As long as you keep up with your studies, that is.” At the boy's increasingly vigorous nodding, Gakushuu huffed a small laugh before continuing, “But like I said, I probably won't be able to tutor you on a regular basis, and I might need to leave in the middle of a session because… well, you know.”

Shinji nodded seriously. “I understand Asano-san! I promise I won't be upset if you can't make it or have to go early!”

“Well,” Gakushuu began, “I’ll leave you my contact info, then. We can keep in touch and plan tutoring sessions that way.”

Practically bouncing in place with how happy he was, Shinji shared brightly, “I showed my mom my report card last night and she was really happy!” He paused for a moment, “I… I think she must have been really worried about me before, cause she almost started crying.” he frowned a bit as he said it, fidgeting with his hands.

“And now you're doing a lot better, so I'm sure she's relieved.” the strawberry blonde said soothingly. It _sounded_ like what he thought a normal parent’s thought process would be like, after all.

Both of them now standing, Shinji ran forward and hugged Gakushuu around his middle, effectively startling the teen. 

_(When was the last time someone hugged him, again? He found that he couldn't remember.)_

Teary-eyed, Shinji smiled up at him, his glasses a bit askew from the collision. “Thank you, Asano-san.” he said simply.

Stunned into silence, Gakushuu could only nod wordlessly. Then, after a moment of deliberation, he brought his hand up to ruffle the boy’s hair, a traitorously fond smile softly taking over his face.

Okay, maybe there was _one_ child he could admit to liking.

...

A bit later when the students were exiting the building, Karma saw that Asano had stopped and was looking back with a thoughtful frown on his face. Following his line of sight, Karma could see Shinji chatting happily with another child over something they were reading in a book. 

Karma tilted his head curiously. For some reason he got the feeling that this frown wasn't caused by the fact that he would miss the student he tutored. In fact, the frown looked a bit… _wary,_ if anything. How odd.

“Something wrong, Asano?” he finally decided to ask, approaching the other.

The other’s violet gaze immediately snapped over to him, and the look was gone in a second, replaced by his normal emotionless expression. “No.” he said. 

“Nothing’s wrong.”

\--

A week had passed since they resumed their normal classes.

(He had, of course, taken the top spot in the test Koro-sensei had tried to ban him from studying for. Gakushuu had given up on most of his hours of sleep since he had to start fighting starless, but that octopus would have to _pry Gakushuu’s study time from his cold, dead hands.)_

For the last three days, however, Gakushuu had been… How to put it lightly…?

_In fucking Hell._

The starless over the last three days had been almost _nonstop._ The breaks between them showing up had begun to shrink more and more, leaving him even _less_ time to rest. He had gotten so little sleep the night before that he actually crushed up two caffeine pills and added them to his thermos of espresso this morning. 

After sipping at it for a few moments, he got the feeling that it just wasn't quite _enough._ Hearing the sound of a can being opened, he looked over and saw Akabane cracking open a can of energy drink. After staring balefully down at his drink once again, he looked up and called over, “Akabane.”

The redhead looked up, curious as to what the other could want. Though he wouldn't admit it, Karma had been growing a bit concerned for the other over the last few days. It seemed as though he'd always had dark circles under his eyes, but now they were more closely resembling _bruises_ than anything. When was the last time he had a full night’s sleep…? “Yeah?” he asked. 

He watched as Asano held his thermos out a little, and asked, “Would you mind pouring a bit of that in here?” he gestured vaguely to the energy drink in Karma’s grasp. 

Karma blinked. “You want me to pour energy drink into your rocket fuel?”

“It's espresso with some caffeine pills crushed up into it, and _yes.”_

_“Why?”_ Karma found himself asking, absolutely fascinated. Even _he_ wasn't really sure if he was questioning why the other had added caffeine pills to it or why he wanted to add some _energy drink_ of all things in as well. It didn't really seem to matter. 

Asano scowled, eye twitching a bit as he hissed out lowly, “Because apparently rock bottom has a fucking _basement."_ The hand holding the thermos shook a bit as he spoke.

Blinking in surprise and then nodding wordlessly at that, Karma dutifully poured some of his can into Asano’s thermos. 

It seemed like he needed it more than Karma did anyway.

\--

Six times. 

Six times today, Gakushuu has needed to leave class to go fight a starless. 

_Six._

And the day was only a little over halfway done!

Even _Vexus_ was getting annoyed at the rate they were suddenly showing up at. In an _incredibly_ appreciated show of sympathy, Vexus turned the ringing in his ears off for the time being, opting instead to just tell him himself when there was a new starless.

Throughout the day he had gone through various excuses as to why he suddenly needed to leave, each one more ridiculous and impossible than the last. (He had, at one point, said something about _space pirates._ )

The latest time he needed to leave, however, had just consisted of an _incredibly_ irritated Gakushuu letting out an annoyed groan as he slammed his hands down onto his desk, stood up, and marched over to the window. He then proceeded to _slam_ the window open and then _jumped out of it,_ and disappeared off into the woods, muttering curses the entire time.

The class was completely silent. 

Even Koro-sensei, who had been interrupted mid-lecture, was stunned into silence at that. The only real sound in the classroom came from Karma, who was sitting in the back, quietly losing his shit. 

Almost collectively, the class had just one shared thought.

_What? The fuck??_

\--

School was over and the sun was beginning to set. Laying on the ground in the middle of the woods, Gakushuu panted, exhausted. Even _with_ the crystal giving him more energy, strength, and durability than he had before, his body still felt like one giant _bruise._ He was sore and stiff all over, and he was halfway considering just sleeping on the ground where he was currently laying for the night.

_That's it,_ he thought, too tired to work up enough energy to actually be annoyed, _when all of this is over, I'm going on a vacation._

_I know I said that vacations are for people who don't have enough drive, but this is fucking ridiculous and I need a break._

Just then, however, he felt a mental pull alerting him to the presence of another starless. 

“Kid-,” Vexus began apologetically, floating over to him. 

“I know.” Gakushuu said, groaning as he sat up. “I'm going.” He was thankful that he had had enough time to catch his breath, at least. He carefully rose to his feet, wincing as he did so. He was fine. He had survived worse training from his father than this.

He could handle it.

As he made his way to where he felt the starless, he hoped that this one would be easy and the last one for the night.

Upon approaching it, however, he found that this was not the case.

Three pairs of pure white, rage-filled eyes glared down at him from just above the tree line. The three-headed starless was held up on four powerful legs. The heads and horns resembled that of a regular deer’s, but the long and vicious looking fangs Gakushuu could see in the being's mouths told a different story. 

Just as Gakushuu was getting ready to call his sword out, the creature slowly reeled back as though inhaling, and throwing its body forward with the pure force of the motion, let out one

Long 

  
  


Piercing

  
  


_Screech._


	10. Chapter 10

The sound that came from the creature’s maw was _unholy._

It was a _thousand_ times worse than the normal ringing sound that alerted him of a starless. Even when he'd ignored it for so long that it was _all_ he could hear. This, though, this caused vibrations down to his _bones._

Covering his ears and rolling to take cover behind a rock, Gakushuu winced at the leftover ringing in his head from the sound. He was thankful that his ears weren't bleeding, but he had the feeling that they _would_ be after getting hit by that scream a few more times. 

He was once again thankful for the enhanced healing the Shard gave him. It wasn't instantaneous, but at least he wouldn't suffer permanent damage to his hearing. 

Y’know, if he made it out alive, that is.

“Vexus, what the _hell?”_ he hissed out, finally removing his hands from his ears. 

Also looking a bit shaken, Vexus responded quickly, “It’s using a sonic attack. Its screams are its weapon of choice here.”

Gakushuu cursed under his breath and peeked out over the top of the moss-covered rock, looking over at the creature. 

The starless was moving around slowly, able to sense the general direction of the Shard but not its _exact_ location. Every step the being took left a giant imprint in its wake, its sheer mass causing it to sink into the ground as it moved. All three of its heads seemed to be surveying in different directions as it tried to pinpoint exactly where the Shard and its Chosen were. 

Knowing he needed to keep moving to stop it from finding him, Gakushuu stood from his hiding spot only a moment too late, as all the heads turned to him at once. 

Gakushuu ducked into a roll to the side to avoid the incoming sonic screams, then immediately straightened up and broke into a sprint, not wanting to give it a stationary target. He ducked behind a nearby tree and paused to catch his breath, still worn out from all the other fights he’d been in that day. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, and he knew the lack of sleep was only making it worse.

_“Fuck.”_ he breathed out quietly, doing his best to stay on his feet. After inhaling a steadying breath, Gakushuu hissed out, _“Protect!”_

He silently cursed the glowing nature of the sword as it appeared, knowing that it wasn’t going to help his attempts to remain unseen by the creature. 

He had to work fast then.

Darting around to the back of the creature as he did his best to stay behind the trees, Gakushuu decided to attack its legs first, and then to kill it after it fell. He crept through the underbrush as silently as he could, keeping an eye on the monster as he went.

Finally behind the creature that was currently looking around for him with all of its heads, Gakushuu sprinted forward and stabbed the sword _deep_ into the creature’s back leg, then tore it out and plunged it back in at a lower point. 

The starless threw its heads back as it screamed in pain, kicking backwards with its powerful legs in an effort to get rid of the source of the injury. 

Gakushuu, who normally would have been able to dodge the hit, realized a second too late that his vision was going black and fuzzy around the edges, his body _long_ past its limit. 

At the exact wrong moment, Gakushuu tipped forward and blacked out, the force of the leg kicking him launching him at high speeds far into the forest, where eventually he was stopped by a tree colliding harshly with his back and head. 

He fell to the ground, unconscious. 

  
  


_“Kid!”_

  
  


_\--_

Karma, who was enjoying the comfort of laying in bed while watching stupid videos online, was startled by the sound of something hitting against his window. 

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed the knife he kept on his bedside table as he got up to investigate. As he approached his window, however, his eyes widened in shock at what he saw there. “Vexus?” he asked, confused. He opened the window and let the guide in, curious as to what he could want. 

Vexus, now in the room, wasted no time. “The kid is in trouble and I need your help.” he said quickly. He looked more nervous than Karma had ever seen him. 

Karma blinked at him in shock, and realized that upon further inspection, Vexus was actually holding Asano’s necklace. “What's going on?” he asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation. “And what do you need me to do?”

Vexus floated over and dropped the Shard into Karma’s hand. “First thing’s first,” he said, “do you have a pair of noise canceling headphones? If so, grab them and I'll explain on the way.”

\--

Thankfully Karma _did_ , in fact, own noise canceling headphones. He bought a high end pair for himself roughly a year ago in case he ever found himself working with explosives or anything else of that nature.

This, however, was not a situation he had predicted.

He saved time on the way there by jumping roof to roof as he followed Vexus, not pausing between jumps and just letting his body roll with the continuous movement. He knew he needed to get there fast to get Asano out of harm’s way, but what the _hell_ was he supposed to do about the starless with Asano out of commission??

He pushed himself to move faster, feeling concern for the other well up inside of him. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but at some point between getting ice cream with him that first day, spending their lunches together, and occasionally hanging out outside of school, he really _had_ begun to consider Asano as one of his friends. He didn't want to show up only to find that he had been too slow and the deer-thing had _stepped_ on the other while he was unconscious.

He entered the forest quickly, keeping an eye out for either the starless or Asano. Quickly skidding to a stop as he caught sight of the starless, he felt his eyes widen slowly. The creature was _massive,_ even bigger than the bird starless that had carried Asano away. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he watched it move, safely out of its line of sight. 

It was _limping,_ and quite noticeably too. He realized that Asano must have injured it before he was knocked unconscious. Finding himself distantly impressed with the other, Karma continued to follow Vexus further into the forest towards where Asano was lying. 

Crumpled into a heap on the ground near the tree he was slammed into, was Asano. Karma leaned forward to check his breathing. It was shallow, but still there thankfully. He distantly realized that this was the most relaxed he had ever seen the strawberry blonde look.

That was... kind of sad, actually.

Vexus chose that moment to cut in, “I need you to move his body further away so he doesn't get injured more in the crossfire from the starless.”

Karma raised an eyebrow, a bit wary. “I don't think you're supposed to move someone who might have a serious head or neck injury.”

Seeming to shake his head, Vexus replied quickly, “Normally yes, but his connection to the Shard has already stabilized him enough for transport. As long as you don't drop him or shake him around, it should be fine.” The stars in his body were noticeably dimmed in worry for his chosen. 

Karma exhaled slowly before meeting Vexus’s gaze, “Alright then, if you're sure.” He knelt down and gingerly lifted Asano up into his arms, a bit startled at how light he was. Apparently fighting the starless was cutting into his eating time as well. Frowning a bit, Karma gently but firmly held the other close to him as he made his way farther and farther away from the monster, looking for a safer place to leave him during the fight.

Once he felt that he was a safe enough distance away, he gently laid the other down and made sure he was still breathing properly. After confirming that he was, he stood back to his full height and began walking back in the direction of the starless. He glanced down at the necklace still around his throat and then over at Vexus who was floating beside him. 

“So how the _hell_ am I supposed to fight that thing?” he asked. “Normal weapons don't work and that glowing sword would burn me.” The sword in question was only a short distance away from him, stuck in the ground where it landed when Gakushuu was thrown, the blade stabbed into the dirt with the hilt pointed up.

Vexus frowned. “All I can do is suggest that you ask the Shard. You won't be able to communicate with it as well as Gakushuu, but maybe if you can convince it that you mean well it'll decide to let you help.”

Raising his eyebrows a bit, Karma responded, “Ask it? The Shard has a consciousness?” 

“It does.” The being shot back. “Try to focus on talking to it with your mind as you hold it. It's your best bet on getting it to listen.”

Feeling a bit ridiculous but willing to try, Karma clasped the Shard hanging around his neck with his right hand and closed his eyes, focusing on passing his intent to it.

_Alright then,_ he began, casual as ever but this time with quite a bit of urgency tinging his thoughts, _well Mr. Cosmic Shard, your current Chosen is a bit out of commission and the starless he was fighting is kinda going on a rampage._

It was true, in a way. The starless was carelessly destroying anything in its path, blinded by its anger. Multiple trees had been destroyed and it was only a matter of time until it tried to make its way into town.

_So it would really be in all of our interests if you let me help somehow?_ It was strange, he swore he could _feel_ the Shard’s hesitance echoing back to him. Mentally narrowing his eyes, he pressed on, _Look, all of this fighting has been slowly wearing him down. There's no way you_ haven't _picked up on how much damage is being done to his body, just from the lack of sleep alone! He desperately needs help or he's going to crash and burn. I'm willing to be the one to help him out here._

Strangely, he found that he truly _did_ want to help him. And that he'd do whatever he needed to take some of the pressure off of him. No one should have to carry this much responsibility on their own.

_If there's two of us fighting the starless, you won't be running Asano into the ground. If he can get more sleep, he’ll be more on top of his game. I think you know as well as I do that he probably could have handled this by himself if he wasn't so goddamn exhausted._ His grip on the Shard tightened as he heard the starless begin to slowly make its way over to him, sensing the presence of the Shard. 

_He can still be your main Chosen, I don't care about stealing his position or whatever fucking powers you have! Just let me_ help _dammit!_

The footsteps were getting closer.

There was a beat of silence, then, in lieu of an answer, Karma felt a sharp, stinging pain in his hand. He glanced down just in time to see a swirl of red in the shifting shades of purple in the crystal.

A rush of energy filled him, and he felt stronger and more powerful than he _ever_ had. It was _invigorating._ There was another feeling there, however. 

It felt like suddenly the entire universe was both much bigger _and_ much smaller than he thought, and he was connected to _all_ of it. Feeling how utterly _immense_ the universe truly was…

He'd never felt smaller or weaker.

He looked over at Vexus who was watching him, his eyes wide. “First time for everything, I guess.” the guide muttered, amazed.

Deciding to test out what he could do, Karma walked over to the sword and slowly wrapped his hand around the hilt, wary of being burned. When all he felt was a soothingly warm surface, he gripped it tightly and pulled it out of the dirt.

Right on time as well, as that was the exact moment that the starless came into view, its three heads staring him down for only a second before it began to reel back.

Karma, having been forewarned by Vexus about this, swiftly pulled the noise canceling headphones up from around his neck and over his ears as he dodged out of the way of the incoming blast. With a firm grasp on the sword and his ears protected, Karma decided to take a page out of Asano’s book.

Darting into the trees to make the starless lose sight of him, he quickly began to scale a nearby tree and climbed the branches until he was directly over the creature's leftmost head.

He silently dropped down onto it and, raising the sword high over his head, stabbed down with all the force he could muster right between its eyes, doing his best to hold on even as it began to thrash around. 

Even through his noise canceling headphones, Karma could hear the sound of the screech of agony that was emitted from the creature then. 

Not wanting to waste time, Karma quickly jumped to the middle head while the starless was distracted by the pain and stabbed that one as well. 

Only one head was screaming now, and it sounded the most pained of _all._ Deciding to finish it off quickly, Karma swiftly made his way over to that head while the creature let out dying _wails_ and plunged the sword in quickly and neatly, putting it out of its misery. 

Breathing heavily, he jumped down to the ground and looked over at Vexus, who seemed pleased with what he saw.

“So,” Karma began a faint grin, “is this the part where I make the corpses glow?”

Vexus huffed. “Your phrasing is terrible, brat.” he shot back dryly. “And yes. Picture the body dissolving away into light and then give the command ‘disperse’.”

With a nod, Karma did just that. As he watched the body finally begin to fade away, he turned to Vexus with a tired smile.

“Let's go back to Asano.”

\--

Gakushuu woke up in pain. 

This was not a new experience for him, but it normally wasn't _this_ bad. He was actually almost afraid to move, in case he made anything _worse._

Then, slowly remembering what happened before he lost consciousness, his eyes snapped open. He listened for the sound of the starless or of Vexus, but what he heard instead was almost _stranger._

He heard human footsteps approaching. 

Peering over as much as he could without moving too much, he caught sight of something _particularly_ strange. Standing there was Akabane with Vexus. But that wasn't the truly strange part.

The strange part was that Akabane was _holding the sword._

“Hey there, sleeping beauty!” Karma called when he saw that the other’s eyes had opened. “You'll never guess what happened.”

Squinting at him, Gakushuu slowly began to test his limbs, moving them slowly and one at a time to make sure he didn't pull anything as he gradually sat up and leaned against the tree behind him. “Explain.” he said, too tired and confused to think of anything else to say. 

“Well,” Karma began, deciding to take pity on the other, “Vexus came to get me after you passed out, I came here and moved you further away from Cerberus the deer back there, then I asked the Shard to let me help out occasionally so that this kinda thing doesn't happen again.” He shrugged as he spoke, “It stabbed me to tell me it agreed and I took the deer down.” He smiled brightly. “There, now you're all caught up.”

Gakushuu sighed and just decided to ask for the specifics from Vexus later. “So the Shard accepted you as a stand-in?”

“Yep.” Karma confirmed nonchalantly. “But uhh, the sword is starting to get a _lot_ hotter in my grip, so I'm guessing that's the Shard telling me to give it back to you now.” With that, he pulled the necklace off over his head and bent down to slowly place it around Asano’s neck, careful of his still healing injuries. 

Gakushuu blinked and then slowly reached out for the sword in the other’s grasp. Upon retrieving it, Gakushuu commanded simply, “Return.” and watched as it dissolved back into the crystal. 

_Thank you for agreeing to let him help me,_ he mentally thought at the Shard. _I'll probably need his help like this again in the future._

The Shard seemed to feel both pleased at being thanked, and happy to be back with its proper Chosen. 

Looking back up at the redhead in front of him, Gakushuu asked, “So what do we do now? I’m in no shape to walk anywhere for a while, and you're a little beaten up as well.”

Karma nodded at his words as he lowered himself to the ground, slowing sitting down in front of the other. “Well, I have a suggestion. There's someone who can help us out and knows how to keep a secret better than almost anyone.”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at that. “Oh?” he asked, wondering where this was going. 

Grinning at the boy across from him, Karma continued brightly as he pulled his cellphone out,

“I think it's time we bring Koro-sensei into this.”


	11. Chapter 11

“...I believe you two will need to explain a few things to me.”

It was the first thing Koro-sensei said after flying to them at top speeds, worry and confusion clear in his voice as he took in their injured states and the damage done to the area. 

Koro-sensei had arrived only to find two of his students covered in cuts and bruises and, if he was correct, a mild concussion in Asano-kun’s case. The surrounding trees bore deep gashes that couldn't have been caused by the two of them, and some trees were just outright _smashed into pieces._

His students had certainly had an _interesting_ night.

“Yeah, that's fair.” Karma said, waving his hand nonchalantly. “We’ll explain after we’ve gotten some first aid.”

Karma looked down at Asano who seemed to be doing better than he was earlier, his eyes regaining some of their normal focus as he silently watched the two of them. He privately found himself hoping that the dark circles under those eyes would begin to lessen now that he was getting some help. It wouldn't do for his rival/friend/ _something_ to not be on his best game. Who _else_ would Karma compete with?

Both of them jolted slightly at the feeling of tentacles wrapping around them, both having been lost in their own thoughts. 

“Alright then!” Koro-sensei said cheerfully as he carefully held them close to himself. “Here we go!”

With that, they were off.

Gakushuu found himself staring at the scenery passing under them with wide eyes. He knew _logically_ that his teacher was fast of course, but experiencing it first hand was something else _entirely._ The wind whipped through his hair and he glanced up at the night sky that, despite their speed, seemed to remain unchanging.

There was something strangely comforting about that.

A traitorously childish part of him wanted to close his eyes so he could pretend he was flying instead of being carried. By habit, he ignored it for a moment before reconsidering.

…

...Oh, fuck it. If Akabane brought it up to tease him with later, he could just claim that he was resting his eyes after such a tough fight. 

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being so high up, reveling in the chilly night air hitting his face as they went. 

Karma glanced over to see if Asano was handling Koro-sensei’s flying well, and was greeted by the sight of the other with his eyes closed, a faint smile gracing his face. He raised an eyebrow. There was a strange tranquility to his face that Karma had never seen there before. Deciding to take this rare opportunity to study the other without being discovered, the redhead began to slowly take in the other’s features, trailing his eyes from the strawberry blonde’s soft looking hair, down to his long eyelashes, high cheekbones, delicate nose, all the way down to his soft looking lips.

Realizing suddenly that he was just _blatantly_ staring at the other, Karma shifted his gaze away quickly, feeling his face begin to burn a bit. 

_I must have taken a few too many hits to the head during that fight,_ he thought, valiantly ignoring the fact that he got exactly _zero_ hits to the head during the fight. 

Before they knew it they were at the old campus, Koro-sensei gingerly sitting them down in the teacher’s lounge as he began to look them over for any needed first aid. 

Koro-sensei was relieved to see that the signs of a head injury that he noticed in Asano-kun before were almost completely gone. Similarly, most of the scrapes on Karma-kun seemed to be partially healed up.

Confused but always ready to help his students, he quickly began to clean and bandage their wounds. He did slow down his speed a bit, however, so he wouldn't aggravate any of their injuries. Once he was finished with that, he moved over to the side of the room and began to brew a pot of tea, having the feeling that this explanation would take a while. 

“So,” he said as he began to heat up the water, “I'm guessing whatever it is that you boys are going to tell me is related to why Asano-kun has been missing school so much recently?”

Karma snorted at that while Asano sighed tiredly beside him. “Yeah, you could say that.” the redhead confirmed with a grin.

Nodding as he began to steep the tea, Koro-sensei added on cheerfully, “And I'm also assuming it has something to do with Asano-kun’s glowing necklace and the large amounts of damage that seems to be done to the forest every time he leaves class?”

Glancing down, Gakushuu realized that he did, in fact, forget to tuck his necklace back into his shirt.

...Oops.

Oh well, it's not like they weren't going to tell him anyway. 

“It's related to that as well, yes.” Gakushuu confirmed, carefully watching their teacher’s reaction. While he could say that he'd gotten a decent understanding of Koro-sensei’s personality during the short time he'd spent in his class, he couldn't say that he felt like he truly knew the other well enough to guess his reaction to a situation like this.

He had learned early on that some adults could turn cruel unexpectedly, after all.

Before they knew it, they had cups of steaming tea in front of them and blankets around their shoulders, courtesy of Koro-sensei’s speed.

The octopus chuckled at the slightly startled reaction he'd gotten from both of them at that. “Alrighty then,” he said, taking a seat himself, “so what's going on?”

Tilting his head in thought, Gakushuu pondered where exactly he should begin. Then, an idea hit him. Quickly pulling the necklace off over his head, he tossed it to their teacher with a casual, “Here, catch.”

Not expecting to be thrown something, Koro-sensei yelped as he fumbled with the necklace in his grasp. He held the necklace by the cord and looked back at them, more confused than before. “Wha-”

Karma cut him off with a roll of his eyes. “Just touch the crystal pendant thing.”

Blinking in surprise, he brought it up closer to his face to examine it. Koro-sensei found himself staring into a glowing stone, different shades of purple swirling in and out of it at random. He brought one tentacle forward and touched it, feeling strangely drawn to it.

The second his tentacle touched it, he felt something in his mind _shift._ Nearly dropping the necklace in surprise at the feeling, he looked back up to ask exactly what happened, but was stopped by a pair of silver eyes staring up at him, pupils slitted like a cat’s or a snake’s.

The being seemed to be a small, floating blob of _space,_ complete with bright stars dotting its body. Then slowly, before his eyes, the being began to shift to look a bit like an octopus. 

“You must be the brat’s teacher.” the being said, floating closer to him. “My name is Vexus. It's nice to meet you.”

Never one to be knocked off balance for very long, Koro-sensei returned the greeting cheerfully, “Oh, it’s nice to meet you as well!”

Gakushuu took a sip of his tea, enjoying the cooling taste of the peppermint leaves, before saying, “Vexus, could you explain about the starless and everything to him? I don't feel like going through the whole explanation again.”

Vexus bristled slightly before sighing. “Fine, but only because you're injured, kid.”

Grinning a bit, Karma chose that moment to chime in, “Wow, acting so gruff with him now when before you were almost _crying_ with how worried you were about him~.”

Eye twitching, Vexus spun around and glared at the redhead. “Shut it, brat!” Then he paused and seemed to cross his arms smugly before continuing, “Besides, I don't want to hear that from _you,_ considering how fast you moved when I told you he got knocked out.”

_“Asano-kun was knocked unconscious?”_ Koro-sensei fretted, thoroughly ignored by the rest of them. 

Karma’s face flushed slightly red before he looked at Koro-sensei and said pleasantly, “Do you happen to have a pickle jar, sensei? Preferably full of old or rotten pickles?”

Vexus shuddered and floated just a bit farther away from him, just to be safe. “Hey, you better not be trying to trap me somewhere gross, brat!”

Hiding an amused smile behind his mug, Gakushuu continued to watch the two bicker for a bit longer before deciding to break it up by setting his mug down loudly. “Alright,” he said after gaining their attention, “getting back to the main issue here. Vexus?” He looked over at the being and raised an eyebrow. 

With a sigh, Vexus floated over to Koro-sensei to explain the situation. 

Picking his tea back up, he shot an amused look over to the redhead. “So,” he began casually, “you were worried about me?”

Karma’s eyebrow twitched before his expression was switched to a charming grin. “Of course! Who _else_ would I use as a scapegoat for something awful if you went and died, Asano?”

“I'm sure you'd find someone.” Gakushuu shot back dryly, still amused. 

Leaning back in his chair casually, Karma stared up at the ceiling as he asked, “So, how often are we going to trade off with the Shard?”

Adding a bit of the honey on the table to his tea, Gakushuu responded, “Well, I get the feeling that the Shard doesn't want you to use it _too_ often, so I suppose I'll just pass it off to you if I'm missing too much sleep again.”

Karma nodded. “Yeah, that works. And you can just hand it to me in class if you want to skip a certain one. We sit right next to each other anyway, so it's not like anyone would really notice.”

Gakushuu smiled slyly, “And I'm sure this offer has nothing to do with the fact that you're always ready to skip class?”

“Of course not!” Karma denied, eyes bright with his hand to his chest. “This offer is _purely_ from the goodness of my heart, I assure you.” Anyone who didn't know him might _actually_ believe that the smile gracing his face was innocent. It was, of course, anything but.

“From the where now?” Gakushuu questioned, eyebrow delicately raised. “I find it hard to believe such a place exists.”

“You _wound_ me.” 

Rolling his eyes, finding himself amused at Akabane’s dramatics, Gakushuu continued on, “I don't particularly feel like going back home tonight, honestly. Though I suppose I can't really sleep here either. A pity.”

Karma tilted his head in thought. “You can just crash at my place for the night, if you want. We’re about the same size, so you can just borrow one of my uniforms for tomorrow.”

Gakushuu found himself surprised at the offer. “Your parents won't wonder why we’re injured?” he asked. 

Karma shook his head, feeling an old bitterness threaten to rise up before he squashed it back down. “Nope,” he said, “my parents haven't even been home at all in about six months.” Then, not wanting the spotlight to stay on him, asked, “But won't your dad realize that you didn't come home?”

Gakushuu scoffed. “No,” he said, derision clear in his voice, “my father hasn't deigned to speak to me since he informed me of my class transfer.” Then muttered bitingly, “Not that he spoke to me much before it anyway.”

Raising an eyebrow at that, Karma did a mental tally of the amount of time that would be. Wow, it had been at least two months since the other joined. He hadn't even realized.

It was one thing to ignore your child by not being home, but there was something almost... _crueler_ about not speaking to them even when you lived in the same house from day to day.

How awful.

Sardonically raising his mug, Karma toasted, “To shitty parents, then. May they simultaneously stub every single one of their toes against a sharp corner at once.”

Lips twitching up almost against his will, Gakushuu tapped his mug against the redhead’s, feeling a strange sense of kinship with him. Fuck, life had gotten so _weird._ Here he was, bonding with _Akabane_ of all people.

Well... he _supposed_ he could do worse, really.

“Oh, also,” he added as he remembered something, “Thank you for coming to help me earlier, Akabane.” He smiled unevenly, eyes crinkling a bit at the corners, “Something unfortunate likely would have happened to me otherwise, after all.”

At the sight of a truly _genuine_ smile on the other’s face, Karma found himself legitimately blue-screening for just a moment and responded with the first thing he could think of. “You should just call me Karma. Pretty much everyone does.” Then, realizing how much he found that he meant it, he added, “Plus, we fight monsters together now. I think that's more than enough call to be on a first name basis.”

Gakushuu hummed quietly for a moment before yawning into his free hand. “I suppose you're right.” he said. “Well, if I'm to be calling you by your first name, you might as well return the favor.” 

Karma blinked, not having expected that at _all._ “I don't think I've _ever_ heard anyone using your first name before.” he marveled. 

“Ren does occasionally.” Gakushuu said with a shrug. “Not very often, though.” Idly deciding to test out the other’s name now that he had permission to say it, Gakushuu looked at him and said, “Karma.”

Immediately knowing what the other was doing, but finding his face turning red at the sound of his name coming from the other, he returned the favor by meeting the other’s gaze, “Gakushuu.” he said, slowly sounding the name out in his mouth as he said it. 

Feeling his face burn for reasons he couldn't understand, Gakushuu nodded before turning back to the table and sipped at his tea like it was a task that required every single bit of his focus. 

Karma, face similarly flushed, began to idly switch the tops from the salt and sugar containers, doing his best not to meet anyone's eyes. 

(Neither of them noticed Koro-sensei off to the side, chuckling and writing something down into a small book as he glanced between them.)

Gakushuu finally drained the rest of his tea, finding that he felt better now that he had something in his stomach. He hadn't had time to eat again after lunch, and he hadn't realized how _hungry_ he was. Hopefully Karma wouldn't mind sharing some snacks with him when they got back to his house.

“Well then,” Koro-sensei said, clapping two of his tentacles together after a moment of silence, “I believe I'm sufficiently caught up on the situation now. Asano-kun,” he directed at the boy, “I see now that your life has become very difficult very quickly. So I'm going to ask that you visit me after class tomorrow. I believe we have much to discuss about all of this.”

Gakushuu nodded at that. That was a fair response, he supposed. 

“But, I won't bog you down with such things at this time! Both of you need to rest after such an eventful night.” he continued cheerfully. “So if I heard correctly, you two are planning to go to Karma’s house for the night?” After receiving two tired nods, Koro-sensei's grin widened and he stood up. “Alright then! I'll bring you there myself so I don't need to worry about something happening to you on your way home. Besides, neither of you are in any condition to be walking right now anyway.”

As Gakushuu was wrapped up in a tentacle once again, he found that this was almost certainly the first time that he could remember that an adult had ever cared enough to go _out of their way_ to make sure he was safe or comfortable. He smiled to himself as the cool night air hit his face once more as they flew out of the building, the stars above them seeming to shine even brighter than before.

  
_How strange._


	12. Chapter 12

After Koro-sensei dropped them off at Karma’s house, he paused for a moment to tell them that they could show up halfway through the next day instead of in the morning. Gakushuu was almost positive it was because the teacher was now aware of _exactly_ how sleep deprived he actually was. Either way he was grateful to have more time to finally get some fucking _sleep._ He thanked the teacher politely before he left and turned to follow Karma into the house. 

“So,” Karma said, toeing his shoes off, “I guess I’ll get one of the guest rooms ready for someone to sleep in.” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the kitchen as he began to walk out of the room, “You already know where the kitchen is, so feel free to grab something to eat.”

Gakushuu nodded, careful not to dislodge Vexus who was resting on the top of his head. Turning on his heel after he removed his shoes, he silently made his way into the kitchen and began to look for something simple to make. 

As he peered into the cabinets, Vexus chose that moment to pipe up, “So, your teacher took the news pretty well.”

Gakushuu shrugged. “Well the proof was right in front of his eyes. Plus, he's a giant talking yellow octopus. He doesn't have any room to judge when it comes to weirdness.”

Vexus hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose that's true.” he mused. “I gotta say, this dimension is one of the _weirdest_ I've seen. And I've been to a lot of them, let me tell you.”

Pausing in his grab for a packet of ramen, Gakushuu looked upwards at him, despite the other not really being in view. “When was the last time you were back in your own dimension?” he asked, suddenly curious. Vexus didn't talk about himself much, after all.

There was a beat of silence before Vexus answered quietly. “It's been a really long time, actually.”

“You miss it.” Gakushuu stated. It wasn't a question.

“...Yeah.”

Gakushuu made the ramen in silence after that, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Vexus, with thoughts of his home and what he left behind, and Gakushuu…

Gakushuu found himself wondering if he'd miss his home at _all,_ if he left it for good. Would he? He faintly remembered a time, long before all of this. A time where his father had been kind. Wonderful.

_Loving._

But just one incident had been enough to break him. And he'd pushed every last expectation of his directly onto Gakushuu then. Every idea of perfection, of _strength._ Gakushuu was expected to encapsulate it all.

_(There was a memory, there, of Gakushuu being forced to run laps over and over to build up his strength as a barely veiled punishment for getting a C on a quiz._

_He ran and ran, already subtly trained by his father to be too stubborn and prideful to ask to stop. His lungs had burned like fire in his chest, his heartbeat dangerously fast, his feet blistering painfully. He'd passed out from a heatstroke after a few hours under the hot sun._

_He woke up in the hospital the next day._

_His father wasn't there.)_

Would he miss it? 

He found that he didn't know. But what was there to miss anyway? Even before Vexus and the Shard came into his life, was there really anything there that would have been _worth_ missing?

The silent meals, the judging stares and mocking words when he underperformed even a _little,_ the way he could never afford to let his guard down around the man. 

He found, suddenly, that he wanted to ask the man if it was enough yet. 

_I have become heartless, father. Just as you wanted. Just as you_ are. 

_Is it enough yet?_ he wanted to hiss.

_Are you satisfied?_

But he knew the answer. Nothing was ever enough for the man. Gakushuu had won every award and trophy, had gotten the best grades, had risen above all the rest, and still…

And still it was not enough for him. The man continued to watch him the way a scientist might watch a particularly disappointing lab rat. He knew that he would never be good enough for the man. He _knew_ it.

So why was it then, that something in Gakushuu’s chest still _ached?_

The sound of a door closing in the distance startled Gakushuu out of his trance. He blinked down at what he was doing and realized that he had been stirring the boiling water without adding the noodles in. Quickly, before the redhead could enter and notice that anything was amiss, Gakushuu dropped the noodles in and left them to boil. 

Thankfully, it seemed that Vexus was too lost in his own train of thought to notice Gakushuu’s previous lapse in concentration. 

Karma walked in and glanced at them, thankfully not picking up on the mood of the room as he remarked, “Well, I got one of the guest bedrooms ready, so I'll show you to it after you finish eating.”

Gakushuu nodded, stretching a bit. “That sounds acceptable.”

Peering at the stove, Karma raised an eyebrow. “You're making ramen?" he asked. "Huh. For some reason I didn't expect that from you.”

“Well,” Gakushuu began dryly, “it’s fast and easy. Besides, I'm too tired to make something complicated.” ‘Too tired’ might even be an understatement. Despite the rest he got from being knocked out earlier, he still felt like he might pass out again at some point soon if he didn't get some sleep. 

Karma nodded in agreement to that before sitting at the table, scrolling through something on his phone.

Dropping into a chair himself, Gakushuu tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling as he waited for the ramen to cook, this time determined not to think of anything too heavy. He'd had more than enough of that in his life already. 

Something pleasant, then.

He found himself distantly recalling the sound of a warm fireplace crackling beside him, and the sight of snow drifting down lazily outside the window, a peaceful blanket of white covering all the impurities of the world.

He had been snowed in at Ren’s house that time, hadn't he? He almost wished he could go back and relive it. 

That had been the most peaceful he'd ever felt.

“Oh, I just thought of something.” Karma said, causing Gakushuu to blink and look down at him, startled out of his thoughts, “Why don't we watch some tv while you eat? It'd be better than us just sitting here in silence, after all.”

Gakushuu shrugged, seeing no issue with that. “Alright then. Why not?”

New plan of action decided, Karma got up to start popping some popcorn while Gakushuu finished making the ramen. 

They soon found themselves sitting on the couch, their respective bowls of food in their grasp as Karma flipped through the channels, looking for something to watch. 

Eating his noodles as quickly as he dared to around another person, Gakushuu almost sighed in relief as his hunger was finally properly satisfied. He found himself hoping that he'd have more time for meals now that he wasn't the only one dealing with this. 

Then again…

He frowned at his train of thought, then looked over at the redhead. “Aka-,” he cut himself off before correcting himself with a slight shake of his head, “Karma, I mean.”

Karma glanced away from the tv to look at him. “Yeah?” he asked.

“Do you regret signing up for this?” Gakushuu questioned, feeling concern begin to creep up on him. “I wasn't exaggerating about how much it cuts into your time. Even with two of us, there might be times where you'll be too busy fighting a starless to eat or sleep.”

Karma tossed some popcorn into his mouth as he thought it over before shrugging. “Whether or not I'll regret it at all doesn't really matter in the end. I'm not leaving you to deal with all of this by yourself anymore, so whatever happens because of that happens.” Shooting the other a confident grin, he continued, “Besides, I think the two of us will be able to handle it.”

Finding himself blinking in surprise at the surety in the other’s voice, Gakushuu realized he felt… vaguely touched? Karma was so dead set on helping him that he didn't even bother to really consider the alternative. “I see. Well then, if you're sure…” Gakushuu supposed that, of all the people to be stuck in this situation with, he could have done a lot worse than Karma. 

Karma nodded once to show that he meant it before he turned his attention back to the television, still flipping through channels. 

When both of their bowls were empty, Karma got up to make a bigger bowl of popcorn for them to share. When he got back, he saw that Gakushuu had pulled a blanket over himself and was huddled up underneath it. “It's cold.” Gakushuu defended, before the redhead could even open his mouth.

It hadn't hit Karma until now that his house was, in fact, rather chilly. Huh. He shrugged and went to sit by the other again, lifting the side of the blanket up so he could drape it over himself as well.

Gakushuu looked at the popcorn the redhead had set between them contemplatively before pulling his hand out of the blanket to grab some. After eating a few pieces, he was pleased to note that it wasn't burnt.

He would never understand the appeal of burnt popcorn that some people seemed to adore.

He let the sound of the tv wash over him, lost in his thoughts as he mindlessly snacked on popcorn. Without realizing, he slowly found himself leaning more and more on Karma’s arm, the day finally catching up on him.

As his eyes began to grow heavier and slip shut, Gakushuu distantly noted that Karma was humming something under his breath. 

It lulled him to sleep. 

…

Karma couldn't believe how _awful_ the movie had been. He had a feeling that it'd be bad, but now he was half sure that the plot had been written up by random _zoo animals._ He turned his head to make a snide comment about it to Gakushuu, but was quickly shocked into silence. 

The strawberry blonde was sleeping peacefully on his shoulder, his breathing soft and even. 

Karma hadn't even noticed that he was being leaned on to begin with! ...Not that he particularly minded, of course.

As tempted as he was to prank the other, he didn't really want to wake him. This was probably going to be the first full night of sleep the other had gotten in _months._ He yawned suddenly, and realized how tired he was himself. 

After looking at the clock, he noted that he was usually long asleep by this point. Well that explained it, he supposed. 

He glanced down at Gakushuu and pondered what he should do. He _did_ want to avoid waking him, so shaking him and telling him to go to the guest room was off limits. 

His sleep-muddled mind finally came up with what he decided was a _fantastic_ idea. Instead of either of them getting up, both of which would wake the sleeping teen, they could just both sleep on the couch! Perfect.

Rubbing slightly at his eyes, he turned the tv off and set the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, glad he'd had the foresight to turn the living room's light off earlier. He then placed a throw pillow at the end of the couch and gingerly began to ease the other down on top of him as he laid down and rearranged the blanket to cover them properly. 

As he adjusted the pillow under his head, he found himself glad that they didn't need to set an alarm for the next day. The fight with the starless earlier had _really_ tired him out. 

As the world began to darken around him, he blearily lifted his hand on a whim and petted the top of the other teen’s hair. 

_Oh_ , he thought, _his hair really_ is _that soft._

_Huh._

\--

Gakushuu found himself waking slowly, more warm and content than he'd been in…

In his sleepy haze, he decided that the amount of time didn’t matter. Nothing mattered, actually. Nothing beyond the warmth he felt under him and the cozy blanket he felt over him. Though, the light shining in from the window that was hitting his eyes in a rather _unpleasant_ manner was becoming a fast contender for ‘things that matter enough to be fixed’.

He just needed to get the energy to move first.

Yawning and nuzzling back into the warmth, he decided that it could wait a bit longer, actually. 

Wait. 

His sleep-addled brain began to slowly connect a few dots he hadn’t picked up on at first. Such as, why was the warm thing he was laying on breathing? In fact, where was he, again?

As the night before slowly began to come back to him, he opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Oh, right. He had fallen asleep in Karma’s living room. And as he looked down, he realized that the warm thing he had been sleeping on was Karma himself, who was thankfully still asleep. 

As he peered up at the other, Gakushuu distantly found himself thinking that maybe the light from the window wasn’t such a bad thing, if it would continue to light up Karma’s hair like it was. 

After processing that thought, he very swiftly decided that he _clearly_ had not gotten enough sleep, and that he needed to fix that immediately. 

Unfortunately for him, Karma chose that exact moment to wake up, golden eyes staring at him blearily as his brain slowly came back online.

“‘Shuu?” Karma asked, too tired to bother with the full name. “What time’sit?” he mumbled.

Ignoring the slight flush he could feel creeping onto his face at the unintentional nickname, Gakushuu reached to the side and grabbed his phone. He checked the time and then showed the screen to the teen he was using as a pillow. 

“Mm,” Karma replied after a moment. He yawned before adding, “We should… get up.”

_“Ugh.”_ Gakushuu replied intelligently.

Karma’s lips quirked up into an amused grin at that. “C’mon, we’ll go get breakfast somewhere.” He yawned once more before adding, “And coffee too.”

Well, when he put it that way…

Slowly but surely, the two of them began to get up and get ready for the day. Gakushuu borrowed one of Karma’s spare uniforms to wear, thankful that he actually _did_ have a version with the correct uniform top. 

After he had gotten dressed in the guest bedroom, he took a moment to check his phone for any new notifications. 

“So,” Vexus began, “you had a pretty interesting night.”

Gakushuu, already not liking where this was going by the other's tone alone, squinted at him. “Yes?”

“You looked pretty cozy this morning though, kid.” Vexus seemed to be grinning at him, his tone impish as he continued, “Maybe we should spend the night here _every_ night from now on. I've never seen you sleep that well before.”

Glaring heatedly at the other, Gakushuu bit out, “You're being ridiculous. There's nothing-”

“Oh, nothing?” Vexus interrupted almost _gleefully_. “So then you shouldn't have any reaction to me telling you that the red haired brat carried you around the forest yesterday the way someone might hold a sleeping princess?”

Face now burning both at the teasing and at the mental image, Gakushuu’s eye twitched as he snatched one of the pillows off the bed and attempted to smack Vexus with it. 

Snickering at the reaction he got, Vexus dodged the attack and flew into the crystal, safe from all pillow projectiles. 

Gakushuu marched into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face to help with the redness. After he was suitably calmed down, he left to find Karma so they could leave to get breakfast.

He was in the mood for donuts.


	13. Chapter 13

Gakushuu and Karma show up to class half a day late, both holding an iced coffee in one hand and a box of donuts in the other.

“Yo!” Karma greeted carelessly as he entered, dropping the box in his grasp onto Koro-sensei’s desk. “Picked ya up some donuts while we were out, teach.” He loudly sipped at his drink to punctuate his sentence.

Gakushuu grinned a bit as he also took a sip of his coffee, though more quietly of course, amused at the other’s antics. 

“Hey!” Rio called, annoyed, “Why'd you only get some for him!?”

Terasaka joined in, “Yeah, what about the rest of us!?” The rest of the class started yelling as well, adding their agreements. They wanted donuts too, damn it!

Gakushuu smiled politely at them, something gleaming in his eyes. “Well he is certainly welcome to _share_ his if he wishes to.”

Koro-sensei began to sweat as multiple intense gazes focused directly on him. “W-well, you see class…” he began hesitantly before, faster than anyone could track with their eyes, he began to shove donuts into his mouth at top speeds.

“Wha-hey!” Yoshida yelled, standing up to jab his finger accusingly at their teacher. “You greedy bastard!”

Raising her knife into the air, Yada yelled, “Get him!” and the octopus began to dodge all of their knives as he continued to stuff his face.

Using the ensuing pandemonium as a cover, Gakushuu slipped over to Nagisa and handed him the box that he had been holding. “These are for us to eat at lunch. We got you some too, by the way.”

Nagisa blinked in surprise before smiling up at the other, feeling grateful. “Oh, thanks! I'll hide them in my desk until lunch, then.” He knew the class would likely remember that they had walked in with two boxes instead of just the one soon. 

Nagisa really had to hand it to him, Asano certainly knew how to use a distraction to his advantage. Just as he was thinking that, the strawberry blonde teen walked over to Koro-sensei’s desk while the teacher's back was turned and fiddled with something behind it.

Koro-sensei chuckled fiendishly before he began to cough, his grin falling as he stopped and shrieked, _“There's wasabi in here!?”_ He then began to pant heavily and tried his best to fan his tongue. His coughing began to grow increasingly worse. 

The class quickly halted their assault as he doubled forward and began to violently hack up yellow goo. 

Rio raised an eyebrow at that. “I uh… I don't think wasabi makes you cough up your insides like that…” she scrunched her nose up in disgust at the mess on the floor. “Not unless Karma has _really_ upped his wasabi game.”

Several of the students attempted to stab him while he was hunched forward, but he carefully evaded all of their attacks until he finally managed to stop coughing. After giving himself a moment to recuperate fully, Koro-sensei straightened up, his usual grin back on his face. He used his tentacles to carefully pry open one of the remaining donuts from the box to inspect it. 

“Ah!” Koro-sensei exclaimed. “I see! You ground up some of the pellets and added them into where the jelly was supposed to be, using the color of wasabi to mask it from me.” He pouted at them at that, adding with a whine, “But couldn't you have used matcha instead? Why must you torture your poor sensei by depriving him of sweets!?”

“Oh, that part was my idea!” Karma said brightly, always openly cheerful about getting the chance to be sadistic. He jabbed his thumb in Gakushuu’s direction and added, “This plan was actually his idea. I'm just the one that voted wasabi over matcha.”

“Asano-kun was the one who orchestrated this one?” Koro-sensei asked, surprised at the turn of events.

A few murmurs broke out around the students. No one had really expected Asano to take initiative. 

Gakushuu shrugged as he smiled pleasantly up at his teacher. “I just realized that I hadn't tried to kill you myself yet. I thought I'd give it a try.”

Koro-sensei nodded happily. “And a good try it was! You skillfully manipulated the situation and my love of sweets so that I'd try to eat them all as quickly as I could in fear of someone taking them from me, all so I wouldn't notice the texture of the pellets or the taste of the wasabi until it was too late!” He lowered a tentacle onto the top of Gakushuu’s head and began to pat it. “What a top-notch first attempt! Your sensei is so proud of you!”

Scowling a bit at the feeling of his hair being ruffled, Gakushuu grabbed the knife he kept hidden in his boot and swiped it up at the offending tentacle. 

With a yelp, Koro-sensei pulled it back just in time to avoid the knife. 

Gakushuu smiled thinly at him, sliding his knife back into his boot. “Personal space, please.”

“Ah, um...” Koro-sensei began, looking slightly disconcerted for a moment before snapping back to his normal cheerful disposition. “Either way, this was a well thought out plan!” Then, his face quickly morphed to have green stripes, his tone turning mocking. “But still nowhere _near_ enough to beat me, I'm afraid! You'll have to try harder than that, but I doubt you'll have any luck.” 

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow as the teacher chuckled smugly. He only shrugged slightly in response to that, a small smile not leaving his face. 

Koro-sensei began to move back to his seat. He sat down as he reached out to pick the box up to get rid of it, only to yell out in shock as a flash of pain hit him. 

He jumped up and stuck to the roof, causing the students to realize that two of the teacher’s leg tentacles had been severed. Reacting almost on instinct at this point to take advantage of their teacher’s weaknesses, the class pulled out their guns and began to fire at him. 

By the time the tentacles regrew, the class had given up on shooting him and had returned to sitting in their desks, some pouting about not being able to hit him that time. 

_“Asano-kun!”_ Koro-sensei began, his voice shrill, “Why-” he was cut off by Asano’s shrug of a reply, however.

Gakushuu aimed his sunniest smile at the teacher, unnerving some of the students around him before he replied, “Karma informed me that you were very likely to be condescending if the assassination failed. And I've noticed that you tend to let your guard down right after a failed attempt, so I knew you wouldn't think to check your desk for any planted knives.” He blinked innocently as his smile grew slightly wider. “I just thought I'd get a little preemptive revenge, is all.”

_“Pre-preemptive!?”_ Koro-sensei shrieked, sweating as he worriedly began looking around to make sure there were no more hidden surprises. 

Repressing a chuckle at his teacher’s newfound paranoia, Gakushuu turned and went to go sit down. He set his bag down and turned to look at Karma, who was still openly chuckling at their teacher’s misfortune. 

Vexus, who had spent that time sitting on top of Gakushuu’s desk, shook his head at his Chosen. “You're so _mean,_ brat.”

After glancing around to make sure that no one was looking at him, Gakushuu smirked at his Guide. “I'm afraid I don't know what you’re talking about.” He smirked wider when Vexus just let out an exasperated scoff in reply.

Karma snorted beside him, amused at their bickering. 

As he pulled out his notebook, Gakushuu found that he actually felt ready to deal with class for the day. 

It's a wonder what a few extra hours of sleep will do for you.

\--

Gakushuu, Karma, and Nagisa sat in an empty clearing in the woods during their lunch as they shared the box of donuts they bought that morning.

“So,” Nagisa said after they caught him up on the situation, “Karma can use the Shard too now?”

Gakushuu nodded. “Yes, that's basically the gist of it. I will say, I believe it will prove to be useful that Koro-sensei is aware of our situation now. At the very least, I doubt he will attempt to punish us in some way for leaving class early. ...Probably, anyway.”

Karma shoved the last of his donut into his mouth. “Yeah, that's not really the sort of teacher Koro-sensei is. As long as he understands _why_ you're doing something, he'll do his best to help you out.”

Raising an eyebrow at the faint fondness he could hear in the other’s tone, Gakushuu hummed warily. “Well, I have to meet up with him after school today. I suppose I'll have to see what he wishes to speak about then.”

Nagisa smiled and took a bite of his donut. He had a feeling that Koro-sensei would begin to alleviate the uneasiness that Asano seemed to harbor towards adults. 

He was their incredibly talented teacher, after all.

…

Elsewhere, deep in the forest at the same time, a _different_ meeting was being held.

“Sooo, we all agree that we need to figure out what the fuck has been going on with Asano, right?” Rio asked, looking at her gathered classmates.

Isogai crossed his arms. “I don't think we should try to invade his privacy, guys. It's none of our business.”

He was very blatantly ignored as the other students began to try and guess what was going on. 

“Maybe he's been involved with organized crime?” Maehara suggested. “It would explain the skipped classes and sketchy behavior, maybe.”

“My guess is that someone finally successfully cursed him.” Hazama droned from where she sat, perched on top of a large rock.

“Ooo!” Fuwa yelled with her hand raised, “I've seen this kind of scenario in a manga before! I think he's a magical girl now!”

Yoshida sweatdropped and said, “He's still a guy though, Fuwa. Let's be realistic here, maybe he's just rebelling against his dad?”

“You all are missing the most obvious thing happening here.” Rio said, her eyes glinting with bright mischief. 

Kurahashi blinked and tilted her head in confusion. “What thing?”

Rio grinned, her hands on her hips. “Asano is totally dating Karma!”

There was a beat of silence. 

Almost collectively, the class yelled out, “WHAT!?”

“It totally makes sense!” Rio continued, ignoring their disbelieving looks. “Listen, Asano shows up and goes missing on the first day, then he later shows back up with Nagisa and Karma. And then after that they're all buddy-buddy? Very weird. _And!”_ she added, “They always spend lunch together, and I swear I saw them hanging out outside of school once.”

Terasaka raised an eyebrow. “So the three of them hang out, why does that mean he’d be dating Akabane?”

Rio, now practically vibrating in place in her excitement to share the information, held up her hand. “Two reasons. The first,” she raised one finger, “is that I noticed earlier that they now seem to be on a first name basis. Which might make sense for Karma, but not for Asano.” She raised a second finger and grinned wider. “And the second reason is that Asano absolutely spent last night at Karma’s house.”

Her classmates looked _shellshocked_. 

Yoshida almost choked on his spit, “He _what?”_

Kataoka raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you think that?” she asked logically. 

“Well,” Rio began, “despite everything else that's been going on with him, Asano has always worn uniforms that were tailored to fit him specifically. _However,_ I noticed earlier that his uniform is a little too big on him today. Not by much, obviously, but enough that I picked up on it. Coupled with the fact that he and Karma obviously spent the morning together today? They _absolutely_ slept at Karma’s last night.”

Murmurs went around the class as they took in that information. No one could find any counter arguments to that.

“Plus,” Rio added, her grin turning devilish, “Asano was wearing some bandages on his neck this morning. Who wants to bet that he was hiding hickies?”

Kataoka sighed and shook her head. “Please don't say vulgar things about our classmates.”

“That was some good detective work!” Fuwa cheered, always ready to play detective herself. “I vote we keep it up by figuring out what the real truth is!” She grinned at them along with Rio and said conspiratorially, “So who’s in?”

\--

Karma and Nagisa hung back with Gakushuu as he spoke to Koro-sensei, neither really in any rush to get home. 

“Ah, Asano-kun!” Koro-sensei began jovially. “I'm glad you could make it to this meeting! As I said last night, we have much to discuss!”

Gakushuu inclined his head politely as he took the seat closest to Koro-sensei’s desk. “I believe so, yes.”

Koro-sensei chuckled. “Well, first things first, I have something for you!” With that, he pulled out a large book and placed it in front of Gakushuu. 

Leaning forward, Gakushuu raised an eyebrow as he disbelievingly read out, “Koro-sensei’s guide to the sudden acquisition of magic and magical duties?”

Karma snorted from behind him. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“You should read it as well Karma!” Koro-sensei insisted, his tentacles waving. “Since you're involved in it as well now, some of these helpful tips and tricks will surely help you!”

“Uh, no thanks.”

Gakushuu flipped the book open to a random page while their teacher tried to convince Karma of the merits of reading it. _What to do when a stranger offers you magical candy, despite the fact that you already have magic and the man has two heads._

He shut the book.

Nagisa hid a smile behind his hand at the look on the other’s face. It was the same look almost everyone got when they first started reading through one of Koro-sensei’s guides. 

Eyeing the book like it might come alive and attempt to bite him, Gakushuu continued on, “So, was this book the main thing you wished to speak about, or was there anything else?”

“Oh!” Their teacher said, raising one of his tentacle fingers. “Yes, there _was_ something else, thank you for reminding me. We need to talk about how we’re going to deal with your schoolwork.”

“Deal with it?” Gakushuu asked, feeling a bit confused. He was aware he was missing quite a bit of in-class work, and that his grades would likely begin to suffer because of it. He didn’t like it, but he had… _accepted_ it.

(He had not, in fact, accepted it. Not at all really, if he was being honest with himself. Occasionally the realization that his grades were slipping would hit him and it would suddenly be _very_ hard to breathe for a short amount of time.)

“Yes,” Koro-sensei began, “since your schedule has become so erratic, it’s my job as your teacher to find the best teaching fit for you. Now, I can begin by making a note of when you leave so I can be aware of what you’ve missed. That way, I can teach you when your schedule is free and you don’t have any monsters to fight. Thankfully, I myself don’t need sleep, so this is no issue!”

Gakushuu blinked, surprised at that. “You would go that far?” he asked. He knew that their teacher was good at what he did, of course, but to be willing to teach him at all hours of the day? Any of the teachers at the main campus would have scoffed at even the _idea._

“Of course!” Koro-sensei assured him. “As a teacher, it’s my duty to make sure all of my students get the help they need. Even if your situation is unique, that doesn’t mean I can slack off in my attempts to properly educate you! If anything, this will be an interesting challenge for me!” He chuckled for a moment before his eyes softened and he brought his tone down to a calmer level as he continued, “No child deserves to be left behind, regardless of their circumstances. I give you my word that I’ll do my best to make sure that you’ll have as much of a fighting chance as everyone else.”

Karma and Nagisa shared a knowing smile behind the teen as they saw the look on his face. They both had had moments like it, after all, when they first realized exactly what sort of teacher Koro-sensei was. 

Blinking rapidly, Gakushuu was…

Well, he wasn't really sure what the emotion that he was feeling _was,_ only that there seemed to be a _lot_ of it. How was this teacher _real?_ Could it be possible that a teacher who actually seemed to value his students to this degree could exist?

Apparently so. 

He had even gone so far as to write an entire _book_ for him the night before in an effort to help him. Some of it might be ridiculous, but he had the feeling that a _lot_ of thought had gone into making it as useful as possible for him. He couldn't deny that he was a little touched. Well, he would deny it if someone _asked,_ but he could at least admit it to himself. 

As Koro-sensei began to inform him that he would be able to make up any missing work from the last few weeks and would also be allowed to do extra credit projects in his own time, Gakushuu found himself feeling _hopeful._ How strange. The last time he had felt any _rea_ _l_ hope must have been when he was about four. There certainly wasn’t any _after_ that. 

Sitting here, in this classroom in a building far away from the pressure of his father’s presence, with two of his new friends as he planned his academic schedule with their _surprisingly_ capable teacher, Gakushuu felt a sense of peace envelope the room. His shoulders relaxed from their normal rigid positions and he felt a small smile creep onto his face.

Maybe… 

  
Maybe there was _one_ adult he could let himself trust. 


	14. Chapter 14

“You're both such _nerds.”_

Gakushuu looked up at the redhead from where he was reading over the guide Koro-sensei gave him. Nagisa sat next to him, also absorbed in reading the book. Raising an eyebrow at Karma, Gakushuu blandly stated, “I would like to remind you that you are, in fact, also a nerd.” He tilted his head in consideration for a moment before adding thoughtfully, “More of a nerd than Nagisa, actually.”

Nagisa looked up and smiled at the mock-offended expression his friend made at that. He got the feeling that Karma enjoyed having someone around that he could banter with freely who could also match his wit. There was a certain _gleam_ he got in his eyes when they started their normal bickering routine that told Nagisa everything he needed to know.

“I am _not.”_ Karma shot back, his hand dramatically held to his chest. 

“Oh?” Gakushuu asked, his lips twitching upwards. “Then I suppose those open textbooks I saw on your desk were just there for decoration then, hm?”

Karma blinked and snapped his mouth shut, frozen in place. 

_Fuck,_ he thought with a frown, _I forgot to hide those when he came over last time._

Gakushuu, sensing that he'd won that one, graciously decided to change the subject. “So, was the starless you took care of earlier difficult?” He almost felt bad about passing the Shard off to the other right before they were about to take a quiz, but it wasn't like the redhead didn't know what he signed up for. Besides, Koro-sensei had given the redhead the same ability to make up his work that he'd given Gakushuu.

Humming as he took a bite of his lunch, Karma just offered a shrug. “Not really, honestly. It was pretty pathetic. I almost felt bad killing it.”

Gakushuu nodded. “Yeah, you get those occasionally.” While some of the starless he fought were tough, quite a few of them just were _not._

“You know,” Vexus began, looking a bit like an ant, “this is the most often I've ever seen starless show up in any of the dimensions I've been in.”

Nagisa looked up from the book again. “Is that bad?” he asked.

“Well it's certainly unusual. I don't know if it's bad or not yet though.” Vexus sighed. 

“I suppose our only option is to deal with them as they come, then.” Gakushuu said, flipping the book closed. “In any case, lunch should be ending soon. We should start heading back.”

With that, they began to gather their things and made their way back to the building.

\--

Everyone in the class had showed up for their self-assigned mission. Some out of boredom, some to keep the rest out of trouble, but _most_ of them were there for the sake of sheer curiosity. 

School had ended for the day, and they were finally going to figure out what Asano’s secret was.

They waited until the boy turned to run into the woods like he seemed to do nearly every day after school, Karma and Nagisa following close behind him, before they gathered together. They decided to wait a few minutes so that the three of them wouldn't hear that they were being followed before going in.

After enough time had passed, the group began putting their stealth training to good use as they darted into the forest after them, keeping their footsteps as silent as possible.

“Think we’re gonna see Asano and Karma making out?” Rio whispered, her devious tone heavy with the threat of incoming gossip.

Hayami just raised an eyebrow at her. “With Nagisa there?” she asked dryly.

“Maybe they've been performing dark magic rituals.” Hazama suggested.

Terasaka whisper-yelled back, “Quit saying creepy shit! There's no way that's what's going on!”

Hazama shot him a dark smile in return. “But what other reason is there to be in the middle of a forest at night? A little ritual sacrifice never hurt anyone.”

_“What!?”_

“Guys!” Yada hissed over them. “We’re getting too close to where they probably are to keep talking.” She held her finger up over her mouth and everyone nodded back, agreeing with her assessment. 

They continued to move forward in silence, each of them keeping an eye out for the three missing students. 

As the forest grew denser, they began to get chills up their spine. Something seemed _wrong_ here, but they couldn't quite put their finger on _what._

“Um, guys?” Sugaya began quietly, looking up at the trees. “Shouldn't we be hearing like… birds and stuff?”

That's when they realized exactly what was wrong here.

The forest was _silent._

“What are you guys doing here!?”

At once, all the students startled in fear and surprise as they turned to look at the direction of the voice. 

Nagisa stood there with a wary look on his face. “You guys need to get out of here.”

Terasaka crossed his arms, “And why the hell should we?” he demanded. “What’re the three of you hiding?”

Karma chose that moment to pop up from behind a nearby tree, “I don't think that's any of your business.” He glared at all of them coldly.

They all jumped in surprise once more at the other’s sudden appearance. 

“What the fuck, is Asano gonna jump up outta the woodwork next!?” Yoshida questioned, looking around as though expecting him to pop up out of nowhere like a jack-in-the-box. 

“Listen, you guys need to turn around and get out of here.” Karma said, ignoring Yoshida’s question. 

Just as Rio opened her mouth to argue, a large booming sound echoed through the forest as a tree fell in the distance. Not waiting to be held back once more, the student ran towards the noise, eager to see what caused it. 

Swearing under his breath, Karma followed after them. Nagisa ran beside him as they tried to catch up with them, a rueful smile on his face. 

“It's strange to be on this side of the secret now.” he said. “Asano tried to get us to leave too.”

Karma scoffed. “Yeah, but with the amount of starless he's fighting right now, they're just asking to get hurt.”

Nagisa jumped over a fallen branch as he ran. “Well, it's not like they're aware of that, at least.” 

“What part of ‘you need to leave’ don't they get?” Karma questioned, his irritation covering the genuine worry he felt for his classmates. There really _was_ a lot of starless up ahead, after all.

“Not sure.” Nagisa replied lightly, “What part didn't _we_ get?”

Karma scowled down at his friend who met his look with an amused smile.

The group stopped running when they arrived at the origin of the sound, they began to look around to see what caused it when Isogai spoke up warily, “Um, guys?” He pointed up at the trees. “What do you think left those claw marks? They don't look like they came from a normal animal…”

“Better yet,” Kataoka said as she began to take a few steps back, “why are the leaves moving like something's touching them when there isn't anything there?”

Slowly, the unease they felt began to grow as they glanced around, noticing more and more things that seemed wrong with the scene.

“What the _hell_ are you all doing here?” A voice called out. 

(Maehara shrieked a little in fear at that, though he'd deny it fervently later.)

Their heads whipped to the side to see Asano standing there, with a _glowing sword in his hand._

“...What,” Yoshida began, “the fuck?”

Asano’s eyes weren't fixed on them, however. He seemed to be tracking the movement of something in the trees.

A _lot_ of somethings, actually.

Karma and Nagisa ran over then and stood by him, also staring up at the trees.

“Sorry,” Nagisa said, directing an apologetic look to Asano. “We tried to tell them to leave.”

Terasaka was the first one to snap at the lack of explanation, annoyed at being left in the dark while something dangerous seemed to be happening. “Hey! So are you gonna explain, or-”

_“AHH!!”_

Everyone's gaze snapped over at once to the direction of the terrified screech. 

Kurahashi seemed to be… _floating(?)_ up and away from them, fear clear on her face as she tried to claw at whatever was holding her by her waist, to no avail.

Eyes widening, Asano’s gaze quickly darted between her and the gathered students before he seemed to come to a decision. 

Swearing loudly, he pulled his necklace off over his head and, with practiced ease, tossed it over to Karma. “Make sure everyone touches it, and keep them out of the way!” With that, he was off and climbing up the nearest tree. He began to jump from branch to branch to get closer to where the terrified girl was currently being held captive in the air, thankfully unharmed for the moment. 

“Alright everyone!” Karma called, his mouth twisting up into a small smirk. “Gather ‘round and touch the weird glowing rock! I promise that it'll only make you hallucinate a _little!”_

Nagisa sighed, amused. He watched as the students warily came closer to touch the stone, each jumping at the realization that they were surrounded by _many_ large flying monsters. Some of them began to huddle together out of fear, shrinking down a bit to stay farther away from the creatures.

“Are…” Sugaya began, eyes wide. “Are these some kind of mutant _bats?”_

Nagisa supposed that they did look a bit like bats, actually. Large, pitch black bat-like things with sharp, deadly looking talons. He had to duck quickly as one swooped a little too close to his head.

_That was a close one._

Jumping from a nearby branch, Gakushuu swung his sword down at just the right angle to decapitate the starless but leave Kurahashi unharmed. _“Return!”_ he called, sending the sword back to the Shard with Karma just in time to free his hands to catch the girl. 

With her safely in his arms, he yelled, _“Float!”_ and began to gently drift towards the ground instead of continuing to plummet rapidly like they had been. 

He carefully set her down when they landed and checked her over for any obvious signs of injury. Finding none, he looked at her and asked quietly, “Are you okay?” 

Still recovering a bit from the fear, but always one to bounce back quickly, she sniffled once and nodded, wiping at her eyes. “I'm fine. Thanks for saving me!” she said with a watery smile. 

“Yes, well…” Gakushuu trailed off, not sure of what to say. “Well, ah, you should go join your classmates now. Be sure to touch the glowing crystal that Karma is holding so you can see what to avoid.” He felt strangely… wrong-footed, somehow. It was the same feeling he got when Shinji thanked him for helping him. 

Why was it that genuine gratitude always made him feel so unsure of himself?

Confused but happy to comply, Kurahashi nodded and ran back to her classmates. Clicking his tongue once, Gakushuu followed her and made his way over to Karma. 

“Did everyone touch it?” he asked, getting right to the point. 

Karma nodded and tossed it back. “Yep, Kurahashi was the last one.”

Coming out of the Shard and floating over to land on Karma, Vexus said, “I'll help make sure everyone stays out of harm's way while you finish off the rest of the starless.”

Nagisa nodded. “We’ll lead them away and explain the situation to them, so you won't have to worry about anyone getting injured.”

Karma groaned theatrically. “Ugh, why am I being signed up to do more work?” he complained.

“You signed _yourself_ up.” Gakushuu shot back, a hint of amused smugness in his tone as he put the necklace back on and re-summoned the sword. 

Without waiting for a response, he dashed back into the fray, taking down two more starless while Karma and Nagisa led the still bewildered students to an empty clearing to explain the situation to them. 

This was going to be a long talk.

\--

Between Karma, Nagisa, and Vexus, (who everyone was _delighted_ and frankly just amazed to meet), they managed to finish the entire explanation just before Gakushuu came back from taking the rest of the starless down. 

As he walked closer, however, Fuwa jumped up and pointed at him dramatically. “I totally called it! He _is_ a magical girl!!”

Karma raised an eyebrow at the excited girl. “He's a guy though, Fuwa.”

A salacious smile began to grow on Rio’s face as she called out from the back, “And how do _you_ know that?”

Karma, for once having no idea what the teasing was about, blinked in confusion and looked over at Gakushuu for help. 

Gakushuu just shrugged back, equally lost. “Don't look at me, they're _your_ friends.” He retorted before quietly returning the sword back into the stone as he came to stand by the redhead.

Smiling politely at them, Kataoka put her hand over Rio’s mouth to stop her from adding anything else. “Please ignore her.” she requested. 

Nagisa and Vexus shared a small amused look, thankfully out of view of everyone else. 

“Well,” Terasaka began, scratching the back of his head, “at least this explains why the octopus didn't weird you out.”

Gakushuu nodded at that, then turned to look at Karma when he saw the other’s expression turn considering, knowing him well enough to realize he had something to say.

Karma shoved his hands into his pockets and said, “Well, we’re going to need to tell Koro-sensei that the class knows now. And at this point, we may as well bring Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei into it.”

“I... suppose you're correct.” Gakushuu conceded with a small sigh. He began this with the intention of no one finding out, and now the _entire_ class was aware. He couldn't say he was entirely comfortable with it, honestly.

How troublesome. 

“I'm glad we understand what's been going on with you now.”

Gakushuu’s head snapped up, pulled out of his thoughts by Isogai’s voice. “What?” he asked. “Why?” Were they all just nosy?

Isogai smiled at him. “You were leaving class randomly and your behavior was really strange for what we know about you. I was concerned, honestly.”

Gakushuu tilted his head, a little confused. “Concerned? About me? But... we’ve barely spoken since I joined the class.”

“You're still our classmate.” Isogai stated firmly. “Ah and, about that…” his smile turned a little embarrassed. “As class representative, I should have welcomed you to the class when you first joined. We were all so confused about everything going on with you that I just never got around to it.” He bowed his head forward a bit, “Sorry about that!” He looked up again and smiled brightly once more, this time full-force. “Welcome to our class! We’re happy to have you here.”

Gakushuu distantly wondered if he’d need to pick up a pair of sunglasses. Because holy shit, smiles should not be that bright _or_ genuine. Did he eat a lightbulb? A small _sun?_

He was conflicted on how to respond. The part of him that used to be the student council president wanted to scold him for not welcoming the new student sooner like the class representative is supposed to. The part of him that was still annoyed that the other beat him at pole-toppling wanted to respond with something a bit rude, while the part that respected the other as a leader wanted to say something polite.

Ultimately, the part of him that was too fucking tired for anymore shit to happen today won out, so he just responded with the truth instead. “The class has certainly been an interesting experience so far, I'll say that.” His lips quirked up a bit at the edge in a tired smile. “I suppose I can't say that I haven't enjoyed it a bit.”

Isogai's smile somehow got even _brighter,_ if it was possible.

Karma promptly decided to ruin the moment, however, by slinging his arm over Gakushuu’s shoulders with a grin and crowing out loudly, “Aww, he's going soft on us! I can't believe the ice prince admits that he _likes_ us-” he was swiftly cut off, however, by Gakushuu’s elbow jabbing harshly into his stomach. He flinched a bit in pain but didn't drop his grin. If anything, the grin actually got _wider._

_“Hardly.”_ Gakushuu hissed at the redhead, face slightly flushed at the teasing. “As _if_ I would-”

“Admit it!” Karma called, cutting him off with a delighted expression, always happy to give the other a hard time. “You’ve gone and grown a soft spot for us-”

_“I've done no such thing!”_

The class watched the bickering duo in blatant fascination. They were so caught up in their argument that they seemed to have forgotten about the rest of the students gathered there. 

Rio turned to Vexus and asked quietly, “Are they _always_ like that?” She suddenly wanted nothing more in life than a bowl of popcorn as she watched Gakushuu drag Karma down into a headlock after the redhead began to grow louder with his teasing. 

Vexus snorted at all the curious glances he was getting. “Oh you have _no_ idea. Sometimes they do get along, but _most_ of their interactions are just them bickering back and forth.”

Nagisa smiled as the class started whispering amongst themselves at that. Today had certainly been eventful, and now that the class knew what was going on, it might even become _more_ hectic. All in all, however, he got the feeling that having everyone know would be more of a help than one might think.

This class was basically a family by this point, after all.

They could handle anything.


	15. Chapter 15

Gakushuu glared at the paper in front of him.

He narrowed his eyes and glared some more. He found himself hoping that if he glared hard enough, the paper would just burst into flames and he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

However, as the paper remained traitorously unburnt, he would soon need to figure out what to write down. 

“I'm surprised your paper is still blank.”

Gakushuu looked up to meet Karma’s amused gaze. The redhead picked up the paper and looked it over while he sat down on top of the other’s desk, making himself at home. 

“I would have thought for sure that you would have written down ‘Emperor of the Planet’ or something for your future career options.”

Gakushuu scowled at the teasing tone and snatched his paper back from the annoyance perched on his desk. “Don't be ridiculous. And moreover, what did _you_ write down?” he asked, wanting the attention off of him. 

With a smirk, Karma handed his own paper over for Gakushuu to look at. Raising an eyebrow, Gakushuu incredulously read out, “You're going to become a _bureaucrat?_ ” 

Karma’s smile gained a few more teeth. “What,” he began with a mock-innocent tone, “is that so unbelievable?”

Gakushuu studied the other in silence for a few moments before responding tiredly, “Actually, it makes perfect sense. Also, for completely unrelated reasons, I now plan to move to a different country when we get older.”

That startled a laugh from Karma. He found himself oddly pleased for some reason. Both at the fact that the other could see it would be a good fit for him, and also at the amusing reaction it had gotten. “Admitting that you're going to be running away?” he teased. 

Gakushuu just raised an eyebrow imperiously, “I'm afraid I've no clue what you mean.” He waved his hand in a vague motion as he continued, “I _did_ just say that it was completely unrelated, after all.”

Grinning and opening his mouth to reply, Karma was swiftly cut off by Rio choosing that moment to interrupt. 

“So,” she began, grinning mischievously, “what are you going to write down, Asano? Is ‘Magical Boy’ a job title you could go for?”

Rolling his eyes, Gakushuu responded dryly, “Very funny, Nakamura.” He missed the days when the rest of the class was either too intimidated or too confused to speak to him. More peaceful times, really.

Rio shrugged, her grin not faltering. “Hey, I'm honestly just glad that the mystery of why you went feral finally got solved.”

Gakushuu bristled a little at that. “I did not go _feral.”_ he argued, crossing his arms. 

“Dude,” Rio began incredulously, ticking things off on her fingers as she began to list them, “you were skipping class, blatantly lying to teachers, showing up randomly covered in leaves and twigs, drinking coffee that I'm _positive_ would have killed a normal person…” she raised an eyebrow and grinned at him as she put her hands on her hips, “You were _unhinged.”_

Laughing brightly at Gakushuu’s resulting annoyed scowl and reddening face, Karma added, “Thankfully, I'm here to help you now, so you can be _slightly_ less feral.” The dark circles under the strawberry blondes eyes had lightened by quite a bit. They weren't completely gone yet, but he was beginning to look less like he fell down an entire flight of stairs only to land on his _eyes._

Gakushuu’s eyebrow twitched. “I don't want to hear that from someone who was _born_ feral.”

Karma’s grin widened at that, choosing to take it as a compliment. “Well,” he said gesturing over to where Koro-sensei was waving at the teen, “I think it's your turn to go talk to the octopus anyway.”

Glancing over at Koro-sensei, Gakushuu repressed a sigh and got up, taking his paper with him. 

He really wasn’t looking forward to this.

\--

“So, Asano-kun!” Koro-sensei began brightly as the student sat across from him, “I’ve noticed that your paper was left blank.”

Gakushuu nodded as he stared down at the blank paper between them. “It was, yes.” he responded. 

“...May I ask why that is?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

Koro-sensei folded his tentacles, concerned at the nearly _lifeless_ tone the teen’s voice had taken. “I'm afraid not, Asano-kun. If anything, I'd say that you're one of the students that I'm _most_ positive could do whatever they set their mind to.”

Gakushuu shifted his stare down to his hands, clenched together in his lap. “Well,” he began slowly, “it's because my future is currently uncertain at best. Even _Vexus_ is unsure of how much longer I'll need to fight the starless. It could be _years._ ” His grip tightened, nails beginning to dig into his hands even as his voice stayed level and controlled. _“You_ might have made an exception for my schoolwork, but I highly doubt other teachers in the future will. If I'm still fighting them at that point then my grades will once again begin to plummet.” His nails dug themselves in further. “And if that were to happen then my chances of getting into a decent college go down exponentially, not to mention that if this carries on into _college-”_

Koro-sensei gently pulled Gakushuu’s hands apart, startling him from his darkening train of thought. “Asano-kun,” Koro-sensei began gently as his student looked up at him with widening eyes, “you're spiraling. I'm sure we’ll be able to work something out, but first I need you to do me a favor.” At the teen’s hesitant nod, Koro-sensei slowly released his hands. “Alright, I just need you to take a few deep breaths for me. That's all.”

Feeling a bit silly but understanding the science behind it, Gakushuu began to take slow and deep breaths. He began to slowly let the tension out of his body as he breathed, closing his eyes as he did so. He hadn't even realized how frantic he had been getting internally until Koro-sensei pointed it out.

When he felt himself sufficiently calmed, he opened his eyes back up and looked at his teacher. “Apologies,” he said as he glanced away, feeling embarrassment begin to creep in, “that was… unprofessional of me.”

Koro-sensei shook his head. “On the contrary, stress can get to anyone. Repressing it will only hurt you more in the long run.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Also, you're a teenager, Asano-kun. You don't _need_ to be professional right now.”

Gakushuu uncomfortably shifted a bit in his seat before saying, “...Perhaps.” in a tone implying that he did _not,_ in fact, agree. “In any case, what did you mean when you said that we could figure something out?”

Sighing at his student’s obvious refusal to budge on the professionalism front, Koro-sensei decided to just put that to the side to focus on later. “To begin with, you now have someone to help you with your duties. I believe you're overlooking exactly how much that will help both you _and_ your grades in the long run.”

Gakushuu tilted his head in thought. “I... suppose so.” he hesitantly allowed. “But even _that_ isn't a guarantee.”

“Nothing in life is a guarantee, Asano-kun.” Koro-sensei informed him gently. “Even if this hadn't happened, something _else_ could have happened in your life that could have affected your grades just as much. Perhaps you could have gotten hit by a car and hospitalized, maybe you could have developed another health concern, or maybe there could have been a death in your family. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. Life is full of uncertainties for everyone.” He held one of his tentacle fingers up and added, “What matters most is what you do with what you’re given.”

At the teen’s thoughtful frown, Koro-sensei chuckled lightly and said, “Let me ask you this, Asano-kun. If this hadn’t happened, if you didn’t have to worry about fighting the starless, what _would_ you have written down?”

“Well…,” Gakushuu began slowly, “being a CEO has always interested me. I’d like to own my own company, geared towards developing new technology.” Truthfully, technology had _always_ interested him. He had even stayed after school once or twice since joining this class (when he didn’t have a starless to fight of course) just so he could interview Ritsu. Honestly, he had found himself more impressed by Ritsu than by Koro-sensei. She was the most well-developed and advanced AI Gakushuu had ever _seen._ Maybe one day he’d be able to use what he learned from her with his own company. 

...Or maybe the octopus was just making him too optimistic. 

“I see.” Koro-sensei responded, his smile seeming to grow even wider. “Yes, I believe that would suit you perfectly. You certainly have what it takes to become a top-notch CEO!”

Gakushuu rubbed the back of his neck, doing his best to fight down a blush. “Yes, well…” he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Something about Koro-sensei’s wholehearted praise hit him differently than the hollow praise he got from the teachers at the main campus. It really felt like he honestly meant _every_ word. 

Thankfully, he was saved by Koro-sensei adding brightly, “And now that we know what to help you work towards, let’s see what we can do about this!” He glanced at some papers to the side of him and shuffled through them for a moment, letting his eyes quickly rove over them. “Well to begin with, if we’re speaking of starting up your own company, then I don’t believe you need a college degree for that. I would, however, suggest that you at least get a bachelor’s degree. Thankfully, even with any odd hours you might have at that point, it’s something you can attain through online college.”

Gakushuu paused at that. He... hadn’t considered online college, actually. 

Huh. 

“Also,” Koro-sensei continued, “even if your attendance continues to be erratic in high school, I’m more than positive that you’re intelligent enough that you won’t have to worry about failing. Perhaps you won’t be able to continue making straight A’s, but I don’t think failing will need to be a true concern of yours.” He paused for a moment before adding frantically, “Not that you shouldn’t still try your best, of course!”

Tilting his head as he thought it over, Gakushuu found himself nodding. “You might be right, actually. On top of that, Karma has mentioned an interest in continuing on to Kunugigoaka High next year, so I suppose I can continue to share the workload with him then as well.”

_“Nufufufu_ ,” Koro-sensei chuckled and pulled a small book out and began to write in it, “Oh, _has_ he now?”

Gakushuu squinted suspiciously at his teacher. “What are you writing down?” He tried to peer over the edge to see what was being written down, but to no avail. 

Koro-sensei chuckled again. “Oh, nothing nothing.”

Eyebrow twitching in irritation, Gakushuu whipped his knife out of his boot and tried to stab the teacher’s nearest tentacle, causing Koro-sensei to shriek and hide his book away. “Asano-kun!” he yelled shrilly, “We’re in the middle of a meeting!”

“You were annoying me.” Gakushuu blandly stated. It was strangely _freeing_ to be able to talk to a teacher this way. Something about Koro-sensei made him feel like anything he said would be accepted. He realized that he… didn’t actually have to pretend to be a perfect student with him.

_Oh,_ he thought, _maybe he was correct that I don’t need to always act professional with adults._

_...Maybe I can make_ some _exceptions._

“I have such mean students!” the teacher whined, his tentacles wiping dramatically at his eyes. “You never even try to stab me for the right reasons!”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t every reason to stab you considered a good reason? What with the whole ‘blowing up the world thing’ and all?” He waved his hand vaguely in an unmotivated manner.

Recovering quickly, Koro-sensei tilted his head inquisitively and raised a tentacle in question, “I've noticed that you don’t seem very enthusiastic about the assassination, Asano-kun. Isn’t saving the world something you should put more... _feeling_ into?”

“I’m not enthusiastic about anything, for one.” Gakushuu stated, dryer than most deserts. “The only reason I’m even bothering to help save the world from you and the starless is so that I can go back to studying in peace.”

There was a beat of silence as both of them blankly stared at each other.

“Asano-kun, I think your priorities might be a little out of order.”

“Too bad.”

\--

Gakushuu found himself leaving the meeting feeling… strangely better than when he went in. Koro-sensei had spoken to him more about his options for the future, and they had discussed possible backup plans that he could take in certain scenarios that could theoretically happen. After meeting with his father, no matter how well he was doing with his life, he always seemed to leave feeling worse about his future. But now, even in a much worse situation, he actually felt _confident_ about where he was going in life.

It was truly amazing what a different teaching style could do.

“You seem happy.”

Gakushuu looked up to see that he had wandered over to Nagisa’s desk while lost in thought. “Oh, hello.” He glanced down at the other’s paper and raised an eyebrow at what he read there.

Nagisa followed his line of sight and grimaced. “Karma and Rio wrote that stuff down to tease me.” he explained. “I _know_ I look like a girl, but I wish they’d stop-”

“You don’t, though.” Gakushuu interrupted without really meaning to.

Nagisa’s head snapped up. “What?” he asked, wondering if he had heard right. 

“Well,” Gakushuu began, “I can understand why someone might make that mistake, but,” he turned the full force of his gaze on the other then, the sharp violet of his eyes staring at Nagisa with such focus that the boy felt strangely like he was being observed under a microscope, “your cheekbones aren’t quite prominent enough to be a female's, your eyebrows are set a bit too low, and your nose is a bit too wide.” Gakushuu shrugged. “Those, coupled with a few other things, make it obvious that you’re a male. By the time you reach your mid to late thirties, the difference should be even more obvious.”

Nagisa’s eyes had slowly widened as the other spoke, overwhelmed by what he was hearing. This was… the first time someone had ever told him that he _did_ look like a boy. And he had used science to back it up instead of empty or pitying words. A wide smile spread across his face and he flung his arms around the other, hugging him tightly. _“Thank you.”_ he said, his voice quiet with emotion. 

Gakushuu blinked in surprise, frozen in place as the other hugged him. “Um.” he stated, having nothing else to say. 

Nagisa jumped back, embarrassed at making the other uncomfortable. “Oh!” he said, “Uh, sorry! I’m just really happy!”

“It’s fine.” Gakushuu found himself assuring him. “And uh, you’re welcome?” He was unsure as to _exactly_ why the other was so emotional about this. It was probably a sensitive subject, so he decided not to ask. He distantly wondered when he'd started to care about hurting someone else's feelings anyway. 

Nagisa aimed his overjoyed smile up at the strawberry blonde before taking his paper and leaving the room with a new pep in his step, looking much happier than he had earlier. 

  
Gakushuu stared after him as he left, wondering what _exactly_ had just happened.

_Every single person in this class is_ _so weird,_ he thought, before pausing and smiling ruefully.

_I guess I really do belong here, then._


	16. Chapter 16

“So,” Gakushuu began, “your mom is coming to talk to Koro-sensei today?”

Nagisa sighed and nodded. “Yeah, she wants me to transfer out of E class. Koro-sensei is going to pretend to be Karasuma-sensei when she gets here.”

Gakushuu made himself more comfortable on the large rock he was sitting on as he responded dryly, “And I'm sure he’ll do a _fantastic_ job of it.” He huffed a small laugh at Nagisa’s answering grimace. After taking a small bite of his lunch, he added, “If it's any real consolation, I doubt the principal will allow any sort of transfer at this point. Not that I can really _guarantee_ anything of course, but still.”

Nagisa blinked at the way the other addressed his father, but decided it would be better not to ask about it. “That… does help a bit actually. Thanks.” He appreciated the other’s attempts to help. It meant a lot coming from someone Nagisa was sure wouldn't normally bother.

Gakushuu looked over at Vexus, who was seated in Karma’s normal spot, snacking on a small bowl of popcorn. After the class had become aware of his existence, they began to shower the little being with a variety of different snacks. Pretty much all of them had found themselves charmed by the small being.

Karma had decided to skip the last half of the day, the starless he had taken care of that morning having worn him out. He had walked into the classroom, tossed the Shard to Gakushuu, and walked back out after a vague statement letting them know that he was taking the rest of the day off.

Gakushuu couldn't blame him, honestly. The redhead had begun to look a little tired himself recently. Thankfully, the workload was now _much_ easier to deal with now that there were two of them. 

Bringing his focus back to the present, Gakushuu found himself hoping that the other didn't get transferred out of the class. From the stories he had been told by the both of them about what he missed in the first half of the year, quite a few things had happened. Admittedly, they had quite a few more close calls than he would have expected. 

He was rather impressed by what he heard about Nagisa’s skills so far. The class seemed like it was really important to his blue haired friend, and he didn't want that taken from him. 

With no real way to help him, however, he could only wish the other luck as the blue haired boy left early to talk to Koro-sensei about the coming meeting.

He sighed and focused on finishing the rest of his lunch. He was halfway through when Vexus piped up with a quiet, “Hey, kid?”

Gakushuu looked over, a bit concerned by the other’s tone of voice. “Yes?” he asked. 

Vexus, looking a bit like an elephant, floated over to land on Gakushuu’s now outstretched hand. “I've recently... remembered a few things.”

“Oh?” Gakushuu asked, surprised. “What sort of things?”

“Not much.” Vexus replied with a tired sigh. “Really it was mostly just a few flashes here and there but…” He squinted his eyes a bit, as though trying to make himself recall more. “...Well at any rate,” he said as he seemed to give up on forcing it, “the biggest thing that I remember is that the Shard is actually a legitimate _shard._ It came from something called the Cosmic Jewel.”

Gakushuu took a moment to fully absorb that information. “So, wait,” he said, “the Shard is actually a piece of something _bigger?”_ It did make sense in retrospect, actually. The name should have been a dead giveaway. 

He blamed the lack of sleep.

Vexus nodded. “The Cosmic Jewel was the pure embodiment of order. It kept the balance of the universe in my reality.” He frowned then. “I still can’t remember what caused it to fracture into pieces, though. I just…”

Raising an eyebrow as the other trailed off, Gakushuu prompted, “Just?”

Voice quiet and the stars on his body dimmed, Vexus responded, “I just remember that someone was screaming. I just don't remember _who_ or about _what.”_

Frowning at his guide’s darkening demeanor, Gakushuu spoke softly, “It’s alright if you can’t remember everything right now, Vexus. Just the fact that you’ve managed to remember _anything_ is an improvement at this point.” He met the other’s silver gaze and continued, “I don’t know if your mind works in a similar manner to that of a human’s, but when we suffer from a memory loss of some sort, attempting to force memory recollection will generally only result in a migraine.”

With a small sigh, Vexus floated up from his hand to land on his head. “Yeah,” he said, “you’re right. I just…” he trailed off for a moment, “I just wish I could _remember._ I feel like I’m forgetting so much important information.” 

“...My condolences.” Gakushuu stated a bit awkwardly after a few moments of silence, not sure what to say to comfort the being he had slowly come to see as a friend. He knew how to fake sympathy with the best of them, but it felt… _wrong_ to use his normal manipulation tactics when he actually meant it.

How troublesome. 

Vexus sighed and made himself more comfortable on the teen’s head. “Thanks, kid. C’mon, you should start heading back to class now.”

Wordlessly showing his agreement by beginning to gather up his things to leave, Gakushuu found himself lost in thought. 

_If Vexus’s memories are coming back to him_ now _after this long without them…_

_I wonder if it means that something big is coming._

_\--_

Gakushuu wondered if he should be alarmed at the amount of times he was sleeping over at Karma’s house these days instead of his own.

When a fight dragged on for too long and they were both there to deal with it, they began to retreat to Karma’s house after more and more often. At the beginning of the arrangement they had claimed it was just out of convenience and to patch up their injuries, but over time they slowly began to forget to justify their reasons.

(Gakushuu could at least admit to himself that he enjoyed doing his homework with Karma. He had expected to hate it, but in the end they seemed to consistently get into heated debates about nearly _every_ subject, and he always seemed to find himself strangely energized after them.)

They had just defeated a large almost _bear(?)_ -shaped starless that seemed to have been _melting_ to some degree, despite losing no mass. Gakushuu personally thought that all of the starless looked incredibly weird in their own, different ways. Maybe they'd start to get less weird over time?

He could only hope.

Gakushuu let his feet take him back to Karma’s house on autopilot, already used to walking to the other’s home. He glanced over at the redhead who was…

About to throw a rock at a discarded beer bottle?

Goddammit. 

With a tired sigh he turned into the small alleyway Karma had swerved into and crossed his arms. “What _exactly_ do you think you're doing?” he asked, sounding remarkably like the exhausted parent of a particularly destructive toddler.

Karma blinked at him, then looked at the rock in his hand, then over to the bottles he lined up before looking back at Gakushuu. “Is this some sort of trick question?” he asked. He grinned at Gakushuu’s answering unimpressed look. “Listen, I just want to see how accurately I can break them from a distance. It won't even take very long.”

When Gakushuu just narrowed his eyes at him, a challenging grin began to grow on Karma’s face. “I bet you I can break more of them from this far than you can.”

A beat of silence passed. 

Scowling, Gakushuu stalked over to him and snatched a few large rocks off the ground. “This is ridiculous and absolutely childish.” he said as he began to test out the weight of each one in his hand.

Karma’s smirk grew. “And yet you joined me anyway. Now let's start! We can take turns. I'll go first.” With that, he reeled his arm back and _whipped_ the rock in his grasp toward the line of bottles, cheering when one shattered. 

Not one to be outdone, Gakushuu chucked a rock and managed to break two at once. He sent a smirk in Karma’s direction, who responded with a widening grin and a new competitive fire in his eyes. 

The competition continued on like that for a while, each trying to break the most bottles with one rock, while also seeing who could hit them from the farthest distance. Every time one would gain the lead, the other would immediately snatch it back.

They had been playing for almost a full thirty minutes when,

“Hey you kids!”

Gakushuu and Karma’s heads snapped to the origin of the voice. Standing at the mouth of the alleyway was a police officer, arms crossed and face looking particularly displeased. “What the hell do you both think you're doing!?”

Karma, acting entirely on instinct, grabbed Gakushuu’s hand and _bolted_ down the other end of the alley, dragging the strawberry blonde behind him. They could both hear the sound of the cop beginning to run after them, yelling for them to stop the whole time.

Gakushuu nearly tripped before quickly righting himself and matching the other’s speed. They ran down a maze of alleyways, doing their best to lose the man on their way to Karma’s house. Gakushuu, hearing the cop getting a bit closer, kicked over a nearby trash can as he ran by it to slow the man down. Going by the cursing and sounds of someone tripping they could hear, it had worked pretty well. 

After a few more blocks of running, they stopped for a moment and listened for any signs of the cop still following them. After hearing nothing for a while they quietly let out a small sigh of relief. 

Both leaning against the nearby wall, they panted as they did their best to regain their breath. After a few moments, they glanced at each other, their faces flushed from exhilaration and their eyes bright. 

They didn't know which of them started it, but suddenly they both found themselves nearly bent over with the force of their laughter. Helpless and unrestrained gasps of laughter left them, the sounds mingling together in the quiet of the night. 

Still giggling, Karma raised his mirth-filled eyes to meet Gakushuu’s. “Y’know,” he began, “if you told me even a few months ago that one day I'd be running from the police with _Asano Gakushuu_ of all people, I wouldn't have believed you.”

Gakushuu nearly snorted. “You think _you_ would have been surprised? I _definitely_ wouldn't have seen this coming.” He grinned widely at the other, still feeling a bit of the adrenaline from earlier in his veins. 

As their laughter slowly began to peter out, they looked down and nearly simultaneously flushed a dark red. 

They had both somehow managed to forget that they were _still holding hands._

They dropped their grip and took a step away, both suddenly very interested in looking at things that weren't each other. 

Quickly deciding that a change of subject was in order, Karma shot a smug smile at the other and said, “I won our competition, by the way.”

Gakushuu crossed his arms. “You did _not.”_ he argued. “We were tied when that cop showed up.”

“Yeah,” Karma began, insufferable grin growing, “but I kicked one of the bottles when we started running and it broke. I win.”

Frowning, Gakushuu said, “Your _foot_ doesn't count! It was a rocks only competition.”

“It was a _bottle breaking_ competition, and I won.”

“That's cheating and you know it.”

They stared at each other for a few moments, knowing they wouldn't agree on this. Then, an idea quickly occurred to Karma. He flashed a grin containing a few too many teeth at the other and suggested brightly, “I know how we can solve this tie.”

Almost afraid to ask but refusing to back down from a challenge, Gakushuu warily asked, “...How?”

“Last one to my house is the loser!” Karma shouted, immediately sprinting off in the direction of his house. 

Swearing loudly and colorfully, Gakushuu took off after him, feet pounding against the pavement. They both jumped a nearby fence and Gakushuu laughed loud and unrestrained when Karma’s pants got stuck to the wires of it, and left him behind. 

Karma cursed and quickly managed to get free, running to catch up with the other.

They ran all the way to Karma’s house, both trying to trip each other up as they got closer and closer to their destination. 

Pulling ahead by just a bit as they reached the entrance, Gakushuu slammed his hand forward onto the door triumphantly. Turning to look at the other, Gakushuu breathlessly declared, “I _won.”_

Frowning at his loss, Karma unlocked the door and they both stumbled in, once again tired and panting heavily. 

Both choosing to just sit on the floor as they caught their breath, they found themselves giggling once more, strangely elated for reasons they couldn't fathom. 

Karma laid down on his back, staring up at the ceiling from the floor as he attempted to regulate his breathing, still giggling. 

Deciding that lying down actually sounded pretty good right then, Gakushuu mirrored him, glad that Karma’s floor had enough empty space for them to spread out like this. The plush carpet also helped matters for sure. “As the winner,” Gakushuu declared, “I call first shower.”

Karma scoffed but didn't argue, willing to give this to him. “Yeah, yeah.” he muttered. “I demand a rematch at some point by the way.” he said as he glanced over at the other out of the corner of his eye. 

Gakushuu grinned. “As long as you're prepared to lose again.” He was glad that he was finally getting his heart rate back under control.

“You might as well just stay here every night by the way.”

_Never mind._

Gakushuu almost choked on nothing. “I… _what?”_ he asked. “You're… you're asking me to move in?” He was fully caught off guard, not having expected that at _all._

Karma raised an eyebrow. “You're here nearly every night anyway. You've practically claimed that guest bedroom as your own. Plus, most of your clothes and stuff are already here.”

Gakushuu blinked in surprise. That… was true actually. Wow, he hadn't realized that he'd basically moved in already. 

Just how comfortable had he gotten here that he hadn't even _noticed?_

“Also,” Karma added, a bit quieter, “it’s not like my parents are here to care if you just stay here. And you seem to hate going back to your own house. Seems like a pretty good solution to me.” He found that he hated the look the strawberry blond got when he had to go back to his own house. It was like the lights in his eyes dimmed down to almost nothing. If he could help his friend so that he didn't have to make that face anymore, then shouldn't he?

Gakushuu paused to really think it over, never one to rush into big decisions unprepared. So far, his father had shown no sign of noticing that he was at the house less and less often. Hell, the man _still_ hadn't spoken to him. He probably wouldn't notice if he moved out altogether. And he _did_ end up at the redhead's house more often than not these days, for first-aid if nothing else.

And also… he didn't really know the story behind it, but he had certainly noticed how empty Karma’s house always was. 

Gakushuu certainly knew a thing or two about how much it hurt to grow up in a cold and empty house. 

“I suppose we can test it out,” Gakushuu began, a small smile threatening to form, “and if we hate it I can just move back to my house.”

Karma grinned tiredly up at him. “Sounds good. Now if you'll excuse me, the fight with the starless and all the running we did has just caught up with me, so I'm just going to sleep here now.”

Gakushuu scowled down at the other with mock irritation. “You are _not_ sleeping on the floor, you idiot. You'll fuck your back up for tomorrow.”

A fake snore resounded throughout the room. 

The rest of the night went on that way, with Gakushuu wrestling the other off the floor, dinner plans being made and arguments over who would get the remote.

As Gakushuu finally climbed into the shower, he realized that there was still a faint smile on his face, and that it had likely been there for a while. Huh.

_This might actually end up being fun._ He chuckled quietly to himself. 

_Who would have guessed?_


	17. Chapter 17

Gakushuu found that he enjoyed getting ready for school with Karma even more now than he did on days where he used to sleep over. Something about feeling welcome and comfortable in the house he lived in made him feel oddly _giddy._

Not that he was going to admit that to _Karma,_ of course. 

The horror.

He looked over and saw that said redhead was currently trying to feed the birds outside the kitchen window some leftover Chinese food, trying to beckon them closer with a piece of chicken. Gakushuu sighed and walked over.

“That _can’t_ be good for them.” he said, almost startling the other into dropping the piece.

Karma glanced back to look at him before shrugging lightly. “I don’t even think it’s good for _humans,_ honestly.” He pulled the piece of chicken away before looking at it consideringly. “Do you think it would be considered cannibalism if they ate a piece?” 

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and grabbed his bag. “C’mon,” he said, ignoring the previous question, “we should leave now if we want to have enough time to grab breakfast before class.” 

Karma shoved the container back into the fridge and grabbed his own bag. “Yeah, that's fair.” he said, turning to look at the other. “So where do you want to go for breakfast?” He carefully toed his shoes on, bending over to adjust them properly.

“We can decide on the way.” Gakushuu responded as they made their way out the door.

All in all, a much better morning than he would have had at his own home. Odd quirks and all.

\--

School had just ended for the day and the two of them decided to drag Nagisa into the woods, noticing that he looked a bit out of it. They sat in their normal clearing where they ate lunch, situating themselves until they were comfortable. 

“So…” Karma began awkwardly, not used to talking to someone about their feelings. “We heard what happened with your mom last night.”

Nagisa grimaced and nodded. “Yeah,” he started before adopting a slightly forced upbeat expression, “b-but we worked it out! And she’s going to let me stay in this class now.”

Gakushuu silently observed his classmate, taking in his expressions and body language. The entire class had become aware very quickly as to why Nagisa’s hair remained long, along with a few other things. It was strange how much about him made sense now that he had more context. 

He supposed most people were like that, really. 

“How... do you feel about everything?” Gakushuu finally asked, keeping his eyes trained on his blue haired friend. “About your mom and everything that happened last night? Are you… okay?” He thought for a moment before adding quietly, “You don't have to answer if the question makes you uncomfortable, however.” He knew better than most how much of a soft spot parents could be for someone. 

Nagisa shifted quietly in his spot for a moment, before speaking with his eyes averted, “It’s just… a lot.” He fiddled with his hands in his lap as he continued, “I _do_ love my mom, and I'm glad she’ll let me stay here and that she won't actively try to force me to be a girl now. I guess I just hope that she comes around? She doesn't seem very happy about it right now, but I think that maybe that could change?” He looked at them as though asking them, almost subconsciously looking for reassurance. 

Karma shrugged nonchalantly and lightly punched Nagisa’s shoulder. “Well if she doesn't, you could come live at my house too. There's more than enough room and I guess I'm just taking in strays now.”

Crossing his arms primly, Gakushuu shot back, “I resent being called a _stray._ If anything I'm a cat that ran away from one home to another. Stray implies that I was homeless at some point.”

Nagisa spoke then, interrupting Karma’s retort with an incredulous, “You both _live_ together now!?” he looked between them, eyes wider than normal. 

Gakushuu shrugged before nodding. “Yeah, Karma offered last night and I was already staying there a lot anyway.”

“And your uh…” Nagisa trailed off, unsure if he should ask. 

Knowing where the other was going with that, Gakushuu shook his head, his voice stiff, “No, I doubt the principal will notice or care.” Nagisa and Karma frowned at that, but Gakushuu’s face remained blank, long since used to this. 

~~_(Some part of him deep down disagreed stubbornly, but he shoved it back down into its place. If his father refused to care about him, then Gakushuu had no qualms about returning the favor._ ~~

~~_It was fine._ ~~

~~_He was fine.)_ ~~

Deciding to change the subject, Nagisa smiled a little with a certain twinkle in his eye, “So you both live together now. ...I see.”

Gakushuu squinted his eyes at the other. That was almost the _exact_ same tone and look Vexus, who was currently taking a nap in the Shard, had gotten when he’d informed him of the news. “What’s that look for?” he asked suspiciously. 

Nagisa blinked and held his hands up innocently. “Nothing, I just wasn’t expecting it is all. It’s a pretty surprising thing to hear, honestly.”

Karma snorted lightly. “Yeah, I hear you. I can’t believe that I invited this dork to live with me either.” He then quickly grinned as he dodged a smack from Gakushuu, chuckling a bit. As his laughter began to die down however, he fixed Nagisa with a slightly uncomfortable but determined look. “So… are you okay? I heard a lot about the way she was treating you. Are you sure you’re safe living with her?” He knew he wasn’t the best with emotions or comfort, but he still wanted to make sure his friend was alright. 

Pulling his knees up to his chest, Nagisa nodded slowly. “I… I don’t want to live away from her or anything. I _do_ love her. I can’t deny that it... still hurts, though. That who I am probably won’t ever be what she wants from me.” His voice was quiet as he spoke, his shoulders hunched in. “I don’t think she’ll try to force me to be someone else now, so I _do_ think I’m safe. I guess… as long as she tries, that’s really all I can ask for.”

Karma frowned at that. “If you say so. But I wasn’t joking about the offer to come over to my house. If she ever starts up again and you don’t feel, like, safe or comfortable at home or whatever, you can always come over to my house. Even if it's two in the morning or something.” He could see Gakushuu nodding in agreement beside him, a serious look on his face.

Nagisa shot him a grateful smile, then tilted his head in thought. “What if your parents come home, though? I know they’re usually away on business, but what if they come back randomly?”

Snorting bitterly at that, Karma responded, “Honestly, there’s a better chance of someone killing Koro-sensei by _charging at him_ than there is of them coming home anytime soon.”

It was Nagisa’s turn to frown. “Are… are _you_ okay, Karma? You never really talk about your parents, now that I think about it.”

Karma rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from their concerned looks. “Yeah, I'm fine.” he said. “My parents are just never home. They're really more my parents in _name_ than anything else, honestly. It's fine, I'm used to it.” He scowled and began to absently rip grass out of the ground as he continued, “They stopped visiting for more than a week at a time at least five years ago. Maybe they got bored of having a kid.” He couldn't deny that over the years he had begun to feel more and more like a puppy someone got for Christmas and then abandoned when they lost interest in it. He'd deny it until he was dead in the ground but… it _hurt._

“Your parents are idiots then.” Gakushuu stated bluntly, watching his friend tear a leaf in his grasp into small pieces. “You have to be one of the least boring children there is.”

That startled a small laugh out of Karma, who felt his face begin to heat up a little. “Is that a genuine compliment I hear~?” he asked, hoping to draw attention away from the rising flush on his face. “I’m touched!” He found that he actually was, a little. Better to play it off as a joke, though. 

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. “It’s just the truth. You are many things, but _boring_ certainly is not one.” The idea of the redhead ever being considered even close to that made absolutely no sense to him, honestly. He was intriguing in nearly every sense of the word, and some days he even seemed like chaos _personified._

How could anyone find him _boring?_

“Ah, if you don't mind me asking Gakushuu…” Nagisa said, still visibly getting used to having permission to use Gakushuu’s first name. “But your um, your father… is he…?” he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his question politely.

“Is he as much of a bastard as he seems?” Karma asked bluntly, having no such qualms over politeness. He knew Gakushuu could handle it, anyway. “You’ve told me a little bit, but that's not much and I'm curious too. What kind of a father is he?”

“Um,” Nagisa tacked on nervously, “you don't have to answer if you don't want to. We’re just… concerned.” 

Gakushuu looked between the two of them, taking in their curious and concerned expressions. He could tell they were asking so they could help, and not just to gossip. Plus, both of them had already bared their souls during this conversation. There was a lot to tell, and the only one who knew most of it was Ren, and that was because he was there for a lot of it. He sighed and leaned against the tree behind him. 

“How much time do you have?”

…

“-and he hasn't spoken to me since.” Gakushuu said, finally finishing his story. It had taken so long to tell that his throat had begun to grow a little sore and the sun was _much_ farther down the horizon than it had been. But they wanted to know the full story, so that was what they got. He hadn't _really_ meant to tell so much, but he found that once he finally started talking about it, it gave him too much relief to stop. 

Nagisa and Karma sat in silence for a while, absorbing everything they heard. They had listened in complete silence, letting their friend get everything off his chest. 

“Holy fuck.” Karma finally stated, staring into the forest across from him like it held the secrets of the universe. “Goddamn, man.”

Nagisa nodded in agreement, not knowing what else to say. Then after a few moments, he quietly asked, “So he… he really hospitalized those foreign guys you called in? And he really did it in _front_ of you?” It wasn't like he didn't believe the other but… it was certainly a lot to process. 

“Uh huh.” Gakushuu said a bit vacantly, as though he was mentally somewhere else. “There was blood _everywhere_ and they weren't really moving at all when he was done other than to beg him to stop.” Almost inaudibly, he added, “I was almost afraid that one of them was _dead_ at the time. He's not, of course, but he was just so quiet and _still_ that I thought…” He frowned and shook his head. “Well, it doesn't matter anymore.”

Karma shot him an incredulous look. “Of course it fucking matters! Holy shit dude, your dad is an _actual_ psychopath. You need to grab the rest of your stuff from your house tonight and then _never_ go back.” What the fuck kind of parent _does_ shit like that? 

“Well I don't know about _never.”_ Gakushuu stated. “I can't just live with you for the rest of my life, after all.”

Karma crossed his arms stubbornly. “Well I don't see why not.”

There was a quiet choking sound from Nagisa’s direction but they both ignored it in favor of their debate. He was probably fine. 

“It's not a feasible long-term plan. What if your parents _do_ come back one day while I'm there and demand that I leave?” Gakushuu questioned. 

Karma snorted. “Then we could just rent a hotel room for the week that they're back.” The choking sound increased for a moment. “And when they leave again we just move back in. Simple as that.”

Gakushuu tilted his head as he considered it. “Well… maybe.” He sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to… take things as they come for now?” he sounded unfamiliar with the concept, thoroughly confused by the idea of _not_ planning for something major. 

Karma grinned and chirped out a cheerful, “Yep!” He was glad that he had managed to convince the other without much arguing this time. “So are you grabbing the rest of your stuff tonight? Want me to go with you?”

Shaking his head, Gakushuu answered, “No, I know how to get in and out without making any noise. Plus, I feel like you being caught there would cause us a lot more problems than if it was just me.”

Karma thought about it for a moment and shrugged. “Alright, just call if you need me to come rescue you like some off-brand princess stuck in a tower if you get caught.” He grinned teasingly at the other, happy to be moving away from the heavier subjects.

Gakushuu bristled slightly. _“Off-brand!?”_ he demanded. “I'm a one of a kind brand name _exclusive_ if anything, thank you very much.” he sniffed haughtily with his arms crossed. Off-brand he called him! The nerve of some people, honestly.

Nagisa stared at him incredulously. _Why was_ that _the part that bothered you??_

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Karma got to his feet and stretched a bit. “Okay,” he said after, “we should probably head back to my house now.”

Nagisa got up as well. “I should head home too, honestly. Mom will start to worry if I'm gone too long.”

Following suit and standing as well, Gakushuu shot their shorter friend a look. “You really should come over if you don't feel safe, though. We mean it.” Karma nodded beside him, echoing the sentiment. 

Nagisa felt something inside of him warm up at that. He smiled shyly up and then and nodded affirmatively. “Thanks guys, it means a lot.”

With that, they said their goodbyes and began their trek home, enjoying the breeze in the air as they went.

\--

Gakushuu was glad that he thought to bring his lock picking set with him when he left the first time. It made breaking in through his balcony door _so_ much easier. He quietly thanked his years of sneaking out to hide at Ren’s house for his knowledge on how to get in and out undetected. He had also been careful to show up during the time he _knew_ his father slept every night. 

Silently slipping into his room after getting the door open, Gakushuu flipped the light switch and took a quick look around. He pulled his bag off of his back and lightly tossed it onto the bed as he began to look through his clothes for what he absolutely wanted to bring with him. He was glad he had picked a bag with a lot of room in it. 

After he was satisfied with the amount of clothes he packed, he entered the bathroom attached to his room and grabbed his shampoo and conditioner. His toothbrush was already at Karma’s, so that was taken care of. He found that he actually preferred the soap that Karma used, so he skipped on packing his own. 

He entered his room again and went to his bookshelf, grabbing a few books that he planned to study that Karma didn't already have. Then he knelt down and felt around under his desk. Detaching the envelope there, he packed that too. It was his emergency money that he kept exactly for situations such as this. There was quite a lot of money inside, just in case his father ever had him cut off from his bank access. With those packed, he looked around and wondered what else he should bring. 

Only white walls greeted him, awards sitting on nearly every surface, the only decorations in the room. 

If they could be called that, anyway. 

He sat on his bed for a moment and just stared silently at the room around him. This had been his entire life since he was _four._ No time for decorations or personalities or _actual_ hobbies. There was only studying and winning whatever competition his father enrolled him in. 

When he first became bonded to the Shard, he thought that it was ruining his life. It was disrupting and destroying _everything_ he worked so hard to build up and maintain. But now that he was sitting here looking around…

Could he really say that his life was any _better_ before? 

Looking back now, all he could remember feeling for so long was just a seething _anger_ and some strange form of desperation. It felt like there was something that he craved _desperately_ but he just didn't know what it _was._ Well, whatever it was, Gakushuu knew that he certainly wouldn't be finding it _here_ anytime soon. 

After double checking to make sure he grabbed everything that he wanted, he slung the bag back over his shoulder. After one last look around, Gakushuu flipped the light off again and exited the room, locking and closing the balcony door behind him. He silently scaled down the tree near his balcony and began to make his way back to Karma’s house. 

He was looking forward to the pizza they ordered before he left.


	18. Chapter 18

So it looked like their class was going to be opening a ramen shop. 

_Sure,_ Gakushuu had thought tiredly, _why not?_

He was able to snag a few sponsors for them with his old connections and his persuasive speaking skills, but that was nothing compared to what he would have been able to get if he still had his position as the top student of class A. 

Still though, the octopus had seemed oddly… _pleased_ by his lackluster results. Had even _praised_ him for his resourcefulness, despite the fact that the outcome wasn't as optimal as it could have been.

What an odd teacher.

Gakushuu had spent most of the time approaching the festival catching fish and fighting starless. The amount of starless showing up had once again begun to pick up in frequency. Thankfully, however, he now had backup to help out. So hopefully he wouldn't _black out_ from sheer exhaustion again. 

Vexus had informed him that they were showing up in this dimension more frequently than they had in any other before it. A bit of a worrying statement, but it wasn't like there was anything Gakushuu could really do about it anyway. So he elected to ignore it until there was something he could actually do about it. Truly a much more relaxing way to do things, if he said so himself. 

He watched as people milled about, all here to try their one of a kind ramen. 

(He had snagged a bowl himself, and he was willing to admit that it was one of the better bowls of ramen he'd eaten in his life. He had to hand it to them, they really knew what they were doing.)

He came and went, helping out with odd jobs that needed doing here and there when he wasn't off fighting a starless. He watched with a raised eyebrow when they were visited by some high schoolers that had apparently tried to kidnap some of the girls earlier in the year? 

Personally he thought that was weird, but no one was calling the cops on them and none of his classmates looked too uncomfortable with them there so he just decided to let it be. No reason to borrow trouble, after all. 

The day stretched on and by the end Gakushuu finds himself more worn out than normal. The extra work from the ramen shop added on to his normal amount of energy expended from fighting the starless has left him entirely exhausted. He couldn't wait to get home so he could relax with a hot shower and then _immediately_ pass out on his bed. 

He was so lost in his daydreams of future relaxation that he almost missed the group approaching. 

“Asano-san!!!”

Looking down at the owner of the voice just as a sudden weight collided with him, Gakushuu raised an amused eyebrow at his assailant. “It's nice to see you as well, Shinji.”

The boy beamed up happily at him. Before the boy could say anything, however, he was cut off by Karma’s approach. 

“Oh, so your kid came to visit?”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes at the redhead’s teasing tone. “Don't phrase it like that, idiot.” He looked over and saw that Sakura and the principal had gone over to talk with Nagisa.

“Did you finish that work booklet I gave you last week?” Gakushuu questioned the boy in front of him, who had just taken a step back.

Nodding excitedly, Shinji responded, “All of it except one part, yeah!” He paused and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as he continued, “But I um, I think I'll need help with that part.”

Gakushuu smiled reassuringly down at him, “It's impressive that you got as much done on your own as you did. I can show you how to do the part you didn't understand the next time I tutor you.” He had found himself enjoying tutoring Shinji in his free time, the boy always eager to learn and talk about books. It never felt like a chore or something he was being forced into against his will.

It was nice.

Just like magic, the boy’s embarrassed and shy demeanor vanished and was replaced with an excited smile. “Thanks Asano-san!” 

Gakushuu absently noted that Shinji seemed to be doing better in most regards now. His clothes were no longer threadbare and he even had a new pair of glasses, as his mother had received a strange donation of money in the mail and an even stranger raise at her job. 

(Gakushuu was, of course, completely innocent in both of these matters.)

Deciding he had worked hard enough for now and deserved a break, Gakushuu sat down at an empty nearby table with Shinji and began to chat with him about the new book he read. 

All in all, he thought the first day went pretty well.

The second day, however, was _hectic._

Apparently, at some point the day before, Nagisa had been dressed up like a girl and sent to charm a boy who met him on Okinawa. And that boy turned out to be a famous food blogger. 

What the _fuck_ were the odds?

Glad he wasn't the one heading Class A’s festival right then, since this development would have absolutely given him a migraine, he resigned himself to just helping out around with the odd jobs once more. 

One benefit of being good at most things, he found, was that he could do almost any job that needed to be done, and he could do it to near perfection.

Did someone need him to cover their shift as a waiter for a few minutes? No problem, his speaking and people skills were sharpened long ago and now more and more people tried to specifically request him as their waiter.

Food foraging? He learned how to survive and find food in almost any sort of wilderness by the time he was 12. This mountain was almost _too_ easy in comparison. 

The cooks needed an extra hand in the kitchen? His cooking had won multiple awards in the competitions his father had enrolled him in over the years, and his knife skills were top notch.

It _was_ exhausting going from job to job, however. By the time he needed to go off to fight a starless he was almost _grateful_ for the interruption. 

By the time he began to walk back after defeating the starless, he found that most of the day had passed. Vexus had gotten tired of flying after him as he worked throughout the day and had declared he was going to sleep in the Shard and that Gakushuu could just call for him if he needed advice. 

Fair, honestly.

Lost in thought as he walked, he didn't hear the footsteps approaching until he heard a voice pipe up behind him.

_“There_ you are.”

If it weren't for Gakushuu’s years of experience in controlling his reactions in front of his father, he would have frozen like a deer in headlights at that. As it was, he only paused for a moment before turning around and greeting the other. 

“...Hello, Ren.”

Ren stood with his arms crossed, a displeased look on his face. “You've been avoiding me.” he accused. 

“Well,” Gakushuu began in a futile attempt to put off the conversation, “technically I've been avoiding everyone, not just you.” When that only resulted in Ren’s eyes narrowing further, Gakushuu sighed and gestured for the other to follow him. “Come on, we’ll go somewhere private to talk and I'll tell you everything.”

Frown receding a bit, Ren nodded and gestured for Gakushuu to lead the way. 

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the clearing Gakushuu usually went to to eat lunch with Karma and Nagisa. Sitting down on his normal rock, he waited until Ren sat down as well before he began. “So I'm assuming you have some questions.”

Ren raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. “Yeah,” he began, “you could say that. What the _fuck_ happened to you? You started skipping school randomly and ignoring everyone’s texts…” he threw his hand up in exasperation. “Honestly, you skipping class is _more_ than enough cause for concern. If you'd asked me before this I would have said that you'd probably sooner cut off your own _arm_ than do that.”

Well… Gakushuu couldn't say that was an _inaccurate_ assessment. 

Now he needed to figure out if he should tell Ren the truth. He considered it for a moment before giving up, mentally throwing his hands into the air. 

If it had been okay for his new class to learn about, then it should be fine to tell his oldest friend. Hell, of the people he knew, he had always known that Ren was the least likely to ever betray him. And he was counting his father in that list as well, which was… kind of sad actually. 

“Okay,” Gakushuu began with a sigh, “I’ll tell you everything that's happened. I'm warning you, though. ‘Weird’ doesn't even _begin_ to cover it.” At Ren’s answering intrigued look, Gakushuu pulled his necklace out of his shirt and off over his head. 

Ren blinked at the necklace in the other’s grasp. “Is that…” he began slowly, “ _glowing?”_

“Yep,” Gakushuu confirmed blandly, “and it only gets weirder from here. Last chance to back out of knowing this.”

Ren just crossed his arms and gave him a stubborn look, clearly not giving up. 

With a small sigh, Gakushuu tossed the necklace to Ren with a light, “Here, catch.”

Catching it in his right hand, Ren blinked down in surprise at the stone in his hand as he felt _something_ in his mind shift a bit. He looked back up at Gakushuu, noticing he had a slightly hard time tearing his eyes away from the glowing swirls of purple, and asked in a helpless tone, “...What?”

Lips quirking up just a bit, Gakushuu called out, “Hey, Vexus?”

Before Ren could ask what the fuck he was saying, a small black blob flew out of the stone in his hands. He yelped and fumbled with the stone, trying not to drop it. 

Vexus glanced around before his eyes landed on the now _very_ confused brunette. “Again?” he asked Gakushuu dryly. “This isn't show and tell, kid.”

Gakushuu matched his tone in dryness, “Well with any luck, he’ll be the last one.”

Ren blinked slowly at Vexus, then over to Gakushuu, then back to Vexus. He opened his mouth to say something before slowly closing it again. 

Vexus flew over to Ren, floating in front of him. “Hello,” he said, introducing himself, “my name is Vexus.”

Clearly thrown for a loop, Ren responded with an absent, “You look like a Vexus.” he said, his eyes still wide. 

Stars in his body glowing a bit brighter at being told his name suited him, Vexus looked over at Gakushuu. “I like this one. But umm….”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes. “His name is Ren.” he answered for the brunette. 

Brain slowly coming back online, Ren began to study Vexus. “Sorry, my name is Ren. Also, are you made out of space?” he tilted his head a bit and muttered, “Wait, no the stars wouldn't be that small or safe to be near. Phosphorescence? Very condensed area of space?” 

Sighing, Gakushuu shook his head at the other. _“Focus_ , Ren.”

Blinking to clear his mind, Ren looked at the strawberry blonde across from him. “Could you please explain what’s happening before my brain melts?”

With a shrug, Gakushuu replied, “Yeah, sure. I’ve got time.”

…

“What, and I mean this from the absolute bottom of my heart, the fuck.” Ren said, lying flat on his back, staring straight up at the sky. 

Gakushuu repressed a huff of laughter at that. Yeah, that really summed the entire situation up nicely. “I agree.” he stated, picking a twig off of his shirt that he hadn’t noticed before. “Like I said, I _did_ try to get out of it, but I wasn’t able to.”

“Well,” Ren began slowly after a few moments of silence, “that _does_ explain things. There were a lot of theories floating around about what happened to you. I think the most popular one was that the stress finally caused you to snap.”

Gakushuu bristled a little at that. “As _if.”_ he said, insulted at the notion. He hadn’t even snapped from having the fate of the world resting on his shoulders _twice over._ He sure as hell wasn’t going to be taken down by some _extracurriculars._

Ren laughed quietly at his reaction. “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say.”

“So,” Gakushuu asked, almost afraid to hear the answer, “what’s the main campus been like since I left?” he could guess that it wouldn’t be anything good, but he still felt like he needed to know the extent of the damages. Before he had been kicked from his position, he _had_ been their leader after all. It was his duty to guide them away from disasters, but his leaving might have just caused one. 

Ren groaned. “It’s _sucked._ For one thing, we needed a new student council president after you left. Seo tried stepping up but everyone voted him out of the position a few days later. He’s still sulking about that.”

Gakushuu nodded. That made sense, honestly. 

“And,” Ren continued, “since no one could decide on who should be the new president, _I_ got voted in since I was the secretary before.”

Blinking in surprise, Gakushuu looked down at the other, _“You’re_ the new student council president?” he had to say, he hadn’t been expecting that. 

Ren scowled balefully at the sky. “Against my will, yes. I hate being the leader, though. It’s too much responsibility.” He glanced over at Gakushuu, “I’d rather follow _you_ any day than try to lead myself, honestly. It’s like you were _born_ for the position.”

Gakushuu found himself smiling faintly at that, soaking up the praise and missing the brief flash of satisfaction that flashed across Ren’s face at putting him in a better mood. “So what's Class A doing for the festival? I’ve heard that it’s successful, but nothing specific.”

Ren sighed and let the back of his head thump against the ground. “Basically, the principal realized that we’re all useless without you and stepped in to ‘help’. We’ve got a concert going on and he pulled some strings to get some pretty famous groups to show up.” He glanced back over at the other as he continued, “The only reason I was able to sneak away and come see you today was because of how hectic things are over there right now. There’s a _lot_ of people at the main campus for that concert.”

Gakushuu groaned tiredly. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Vexus chose that moment to pipe up, “Your dad is a real piece of work, kid.”

“You’re telling me.” Gakushuu scoffed. Of _course_ the man would step in and take control of something that was supposed to be entirely student-run just for the sake of his ideals. Gakushuu wasn’t even surprised.

Sitting up, Ren said, “That’s not all.” His expression turned more serious as he continued, “He’s been subtly making suggestions for everyone to play dirty against you guys. I guess your shop’s sudden popularity today spooked him or something. The day is almost over, so if nothing happened yet it _probably_ won’t, but you guys should keep an eye out for anyone from the main campus trying to sabotage you.”

Taking his phone out to shoot Karma a message saying exactly that, Gakushuu found himself asking, “So you’re abstaining from that? Also, should you really be giving me all this information as a member of Class A?”

Ren raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the strawberry blonde. “I’m loyal to _you,”_ he pointed out, “not your _father._ You’ve been my best friend since we were like _seven,_ dude.”

Gakushuu felt a bit surprised by the extent of his friend’s loyalty, but he wasn’t sure _why_ it was surprising anyway. Ren had always been pretty open with him about where his loyalties lay.

He looked down at his phone and saw that Karma had replied with a thumbs up. 

Good, that meant that he wouldn’t have to worry about them.

Gakushuu promptly decided that he’d done enough work for the day and made himself comfortable. Ren saw what he was doing and smiled as he mirrored him.

They had a lot to catch up on, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm working on a second fic about Ren and Gakushuu growing up together that you can read here: [Link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26079568)


	19. Chapter 19

_“Kid.”_

Gakushuu’s eyes twitched, annoyed at having his sleep disturbed. Was someone trying to get his attention…?

Maybe they'd stop if he just ignored them….

_“Kid, wake up!”_

Eyes snapping open at the slightly louder hiss for his attention, Gakushuu blearily turned over in his bed to blink at Vexus, who seemed to be nearly _vibrating_ in place. 

“...Yeah?” Gakushuu asked, his voice rough with sleep. “What is it?” He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was a little past two in the morning.

Vexus stared out at the window as he responded urgently, “I sense something.”

Blinking his eyes, Gakushuu slowly sat up. “A starless?” he asked, yawning. 

Vexus shook his head. “No, not a starless. I don't know how or why, but…” he trailed off for a moment. “I sense a being like _me_. And they feel almost… _familiar?”_

Now more awake, Gakushuu asked, “You know them?” He didn't think he'd end up meeting another being like Vexus in his lifetime. Not that he predicted Vexus either, though. ...Actually, fuck it. Anything is possible at all times and nothing makes sense ever.

Vexus looked increasingly distressed as he responded, “I can't remember them or _why_ they're familiar to me.” He looked down and locked eyes with Gakushuu. “I need you to come with me to meet them. I can't travel too far away from the Shard and I _need_ to figure out who they are.”

Gakushuu nodded and quickly got up, rapidly getting dressed and pulling his socks and shoes on. Grabbing his key to the house and shoving it into his pocket, he decided to take the shortcut by going out the window instead of the front door. 

As his shoes hit the grass, he turned to look over at his floating companion. “You’re going to have to show me where to go since I can’t sense them.”

Vexus seemed lost in thought, already flying away. “Th… Tha…?” he muttered to himself as he went.

Gakushuu found that he needed to _sprint_ just to keep up with his guide, glad that he had the foresight to put his shoes on. He glanced at the other, taking in his distracted state. He hoped that something good would come out of this. He wondered, though, why he seemed to be sensing a strange _uneasiness_ from the Shard.

After being led into the nearby woods, Gakushuu jumped over a fallen log and found himself glad that the starless had all seemed to be drawn to nature so far. He had _no_ idea how he’d explain a glowing sword if he needed to fight in public, after all. 

He thought it was strange that he couldn’t hear any crickets even this far into the woods. At this time of the night, surely there would be some around? He mentally shrugged as he enjoyed the feeling of the brisk night air hitting his face as he ran. Whatever was happening, he could deal with it when they got there.

Skidding to a stop as Vexus halted in front of him, Gakushuu looked around him to see what made him stop so suddenly.

There, floating in the middle of a clearing, was a being that looked a bit like Vexus. Stars dotted its body and its pupils were horizontal rectangles, like that of a goat’s. But where Vexus was all gently flowing space with smooth, rounded lines, _this_ being’s body seemed to flow _jaggedly,_ harsh edges and corners making up the surface of its body. 

More than that, however, was the fact that the being was surrounded by numerous starless of different shapes and sizes, but... none of them seemed to be trying to _attack_ the being.

_“Thallum!?”_ Vexus called out incredulously, finally regaining a bit of his memory at the sight of the other.

Orange-grey eyes looked over at that. After a moment, the being seemed to smirk as he drawled out slowly, “Ah, Vexus. How wonderful to see you.” He floated a bit closer before adding lightly, “Though I have to admit, I’m more surprised that you remember me at all.”

Glancing over at Vexus but careful not to turn away from the newcomer, Gakushuu asked quietly, “Friend of yours?”

Floating back a little, his voice laced with confusion, Vexus responded, “I… I think? I remember his name and that I must have considered him a friend at one point, but…” he trailed off as he glanced around at the gathered starless. “...Now I’m not so sure.”

“Now now, is _that_ any way to greet an old friend?” Thallum called, amusement lacing his tone. “I’m _hurt,_ Vexus.”

Vexus narrowed his eyes at the other. “Why are you involved in this, Thallum?” he demanded, floating towards him. “Are _you_ the one controlling the starless?”

“And if I am?” Thallum questioned, the starless around him all standing perfectly still in an almost _eerie_ manner. 

_“Why?”_ Vexus asked him, his expression confused and hurt. “What could you _possibly_ gain from it?”

Thallum chuckled and, in a bright flash of light, there was suddenly a large glowing jewel floating in front of him. “You see,” Thallum began, “what I stand to gain... is _power.”_

Gakushuu silently studied the floating jewel. It was a bright golden color, different shades of yellow flowing in and out of it, but the color was brightest at the very center of it. The fist-sized jewel had one major difference from the Shard that he could feel, however. Where the Shard seemed to draw people in, _this_ jewel seemed to do the exact opposite. He found that he wanted nothing more than to take a few more steps away from it, despite the fact that he wasn't even very close to it at all to begin with.

_“The Chaos Jewel?”_ Vexus breathed, stunned and horrified. “You _stole_ the Chaos Jewel!?”

There was a flash of light and the jewel was gone once more. “Oh, ‘steal’ is such an ugly word.” Thallum said carelessly. “I prefer the term ‘permanently borrowing’.”

“Chaos Jewel?” Gakushuu asked, disconcerted about this turn of events. He wasn’t entirely sure what was happening right now, but it certainly didn’t _sound_ good.

Vexus kept his eyes trained on Thallum as he answered quietly, “The Chaos Jewel is… well, it’s the counterbalance to the Cosmic Jewel. Where the Cosmic Jewel is the embodiment of order, the Chaos Jewel is the embodiment of discord.” He narrowed his eyes at Thallum as he continued, “In fact, now that I think about it, the only thing that could have possibly managed to shatter the Cosmic Jewel _is_ the Chaos Jewel.” 

Thallum chuckled. “Oh, good job.” he said, floating forward languidly. “I’m glad to see that you’re as sharp as ever, Vexus.” Stopping a few feet in front of them, he declared boldly, “Yes, _I_ was the one who assisted the Chaos Jewel in shattering the Cosmic Jewel.”

“But _why?”_ Vexus questioned. “You were part of the council! Why would you betray everyone? And what sort of ‘power’ are you gaining from the Jewel anyway?”

“Oh, the power,” Thallum began, completely ignoring his first question, “comes from a _deal_ I made with it. Just as the Cosmic Jewel has a consciousness, so too does the Chaos Jewel. It began to speak to me one day and it promised me power in return for causing as much chaos in as many universes as I could.” The stars in his body brightened as he continued, “And let me tell you, the power I've been given in exchange is _more_ than worth it.”

Gakushuu crossed his arms. “You might as well just skip this universe, then.” He gestured vaguely up to the sky as he continued, “Have you noticed that our moon was blown up? Yeah, that was caused by a giant yellow _octopus monster._ We have enough chaos here as is, no work needed.”

Thallum turned his gaze over to Gakushuu then, finally acknowledging him. “So this is your new Chosen then?” He floated forward a bit and studied the teen. “He seems more… _sarcastic_ than what I thought the Cosmic Jewel would go for.”

Vexus looked like he wanted to disagree on principle but then decided not to, silently and begrudgingly agreeing with him. 

Thallum tilted his head at Gakushuu. When he spoke his voice was silky and sweet, clearly wanting something as he said, “You seem like an intelligent child. So how about I make you an offer?”

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at the other, already annoyed with him but admittedly curious about what he’d say. 

“Join the side of the Chaos Jewel and ditch the pathetic Cosmic Jewel.” Thallum seemed to be smiling at him as he spoke, “If it chose you over the other humans here, that means you have a lot of potential that could be used for either side. I promise that you'd enjoy being the Chosen of the Chaos Jewel instead. It comes with more power and freedom than you could ever _dream_ of.”

Gakushuu crossed his arms and ignored Vexus’s concerned look. “Do you have any _goddamn idea_ how much time and energy I’ve already put into this stupid fucking endeavor? How much shit I’ve already sacrificed for this damn war _thing_ you have going on that I _already_ don’t give a fuck about?” He stared coldly down his nose at the other and said, “If you think I’m just going to give up and switch sides _this_ far in then you must be out of your mind.”

Vexus sighed, filled with exasperation. This kid was something else, he swore. Still, though, he was happy with his Chosen’s firm denial to quit or switch sides. 

Any reason to do good was a good reason, he supposed. Skewed morals or not.

Narrowing his eyes, Thallum floated back a bit. “Ah, a pity.” he remarked nonchalantly. “Well, you’ll probably die in the crossfire then.”

Something seemed to occur to Vexus then, causing him to jolt in place. “Wait… Thallum, you said that you were surprised I was able to remember you…” Anger leaked into his voice as he slowly asked, “Are _you_ the one that erased my memories, then?”

Thallum blinked at him in what seemed to be honest surprise for a moment before laughing loudly, eyes crinkled with mirth. “Oh, you have no _idea,_ do you?” he cooed.

Vexus’s irritation grew at that. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not the one that took your memories,” Thallum began, a dark amusement coloring his tone like spilled oil, “but I can tell you who did. Or better yet…” He looked over at Gakushuu then, seeming to stare directly at him. “I can tell you exactly _what_ did.” 

Following Thallum’s line of sight, Gakushuu realized that he wasn’t staring at _him,_ he was staring at his shirt. 

At what lay under it.

Eyes widening, it clicked in his head _exactly_ what the other was saying. The _Shard?_ Gakushuu almost couldn’t believe it, but… the Shard was being suspiciously quiet. If it had been innocent, it would have let them know very quickly. But this… 

Gakushuu glanced over at Vexus who was now deathly still in the air, no movement coming from him at all. His expression was blank and even the normal flow of his body seemed strangely halted. 

“Well,” Thallum said, cruel laughter in his voice, “you seem busy, so I suppose I’ll leave for now. Don’t worry, though.” He floated back into the center of the group of starless. “You’ll be seeing us again very soon.” 

With a bright flash, there was suddenly only empty space where he and the starless had once been. 

Gakushuu glared at the space the other had been in before slowly walking over to his guide, cautiously calling his name out to try and snap him out of his trance. “Vexus?” he began, edging closer. “Are… are you okay?”

“Okay?” Vexus asked absently, his eyes staring into the distance, unseeing. “Am I _okay?”_ The stars on his body began to flicker in and out suddenly, slowly picking up speed. “No… no, I don’t think I’m okay at all.”

Gakushuu took a hesitant step back, sensing an oncoming storm. 

_“Why?”_ Vexus hissed suddenly in the direction of the Shard, his pupils more slitted than ever. “Why the _fuck_ did you erase my memories!?”

Gakushuu got a feeling from the Shard, one he knew that Vexus was getting also, a feeling that indirectly told of worries about whether its chosen Guide would be able to function properly with the memories of his friend betraying him and of his loved ones being wiped out or turned into starless, and of the snap decision it made in getting rid of those memories.

Vexus’s body was shifting quickly now, going in and out of different forms at lightning speeds while his emotions ran wild. _“That’s why!?”_ he yelled. _“You took my memories away just because you were afraid I wouldn’t be_ useful _to you!?”_

The Shard tried to convey more things, but Vexus wasn’t listening anymore. “I… I _trusted_ you! I’ve been working for you for _hundreds_ of years now! How fucking _dare_ you!?” His form was shifting even more rapidly now, almost too quickly for Gakushuu’s eyes to track. The stars in his body flickered faster and faster as he became more and more consumed by his fury. “You could have told me the truth at any point, but you didn’t!”

Glowing tears welled up in Vexus’s silver eyes as he continued angrily, “I’ve been so _alone_ for so long! I’ve been so lost! You just… you just _let_ me think that I might have never even _had_ family or friends!? Just so I’d be a useful _pawn_ in your games!?” 

Vexus’s tears fell faster as the stars in his body began to dim more and more. “I can’t… I’m so…” he trailed off and made a sound that sounded a bit like a hiccup. “I’m… I’m tired. I… I don’t want to deal with this anymore. I’m not quitting, hell,” he said bitterly, “I don’t even know if I _can_ , but...”

He floated slowly over to Gakushuu who reached his hand out and gently held the other when he landed on it. Taking the Shard off with one hand and placing it in his pocket so that it wouldn’t be in Vexus’s immediate line of sight, Gakushuu brought the other to his chest and gave the best approximation of a hug that he could. 

Looking down at the sniffling being, Gakushuu spoke softly, “Let’s just go home for now, okay? We’ll figure this out together. You’re not alone anymore. I’m here for you.” He tilted his head with a small smile as he added, “Not _just_ me, either. Karma and Nagisa too. Hell, _all_ of class E seems to adore you.” He gently pet the top of his guide’s head in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “You don’t have to deal with everything right now. You can take a break and go slowly. There's no rush.”

When Vexus nodded sluggishly at that, his tears finally slowing, Gakushuu slowly placed the exhausted being on top of his head. His lips quirked up into a slightly sad smile as he felt the other immediately nuzzle in and fall asleep, worn out from the sudden rush of turbulent emotions. 

With a sigh, he turned on his heel and made his way slowly back to the house, careful not to jostle his sleeping guide too much. 

What a mess they’d stumbled into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I drew a little sketch of Vexus! [Link](https://karmicmayhem.tumblr.com/post/628265086818140160/a-rough-sketch-of-vexus-from-my-fic-plus-him#notes)


	20. Chapter 20

It was the next morning and Gakushuu had never been so happy for it to be a weekend. He did _not_ want to deal with school today, and he could tell that Vexus wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be around a lot of people either.

He sat on the couch beside Karma who was absorbing everything he just heard. Eventually the redhead turned towards him and regarded him silently for a moment.

“So basically, there’s a crazy villain behind all of this and he’s planning something pretty big behind the scenes?” he asked, molten gold eyes sharp with consideration and something else.

Gakushuu nodded. “Yeah, that seems to be- _ow!”_ he complained, rubbing at the now-stinging back of his head.

Karma, pulling his hand back from where he smacked Gakushuu, scowled darkly at him. “What the hell were you thinking!?” he demanded. “Vexus told you it was something that wasn’t a starless, and even _he_ didn’t know if it was good or bad, and you decided to go _alone!?”_

Gakushuu faltered at that, having not expected to be scolded for what was, in retrospect, an admittedly terrible idea. “Well-“

“What part,” Karma hissed irritably, cutting Gakushuu off, “of ‘you’re not doing this alone anymore’ do you not understand? What if you had gotten hurt because you were attacked by something unknown while you didn’t have any backup?”

Gakushuu willed himself not to visibly shrink back in his seat. His mother had never really scolded him, but he had the feeling that this is probably what it would feel like if she did. 

With a sigh, Gakushuu turned to face the other. “You’re right, I apologize.” He rubbed the back of his neck in an almost sheepish manner. “I was so shocked by Vexus’s news that there was something different out there that I didn’t actually stop to consider waking you up as well.”

Karma eyed him for a moment longer as though weighing his sincerity before exhaling and letting the tension fall out of his shoulders. “Well… just let me know next time.” He stood up from the couch and went to go put his shoes on. Coming back into the room after, he leaned against the wall and bit into an apple. “So,” he began with an air of great importance, “Thallum sounds like a little bitch.”

Gakushuu repressed a snort. “You’re not wrong.” he said. “Honestly, I wish it had clicked for me when he was still right in front of me that _he_ was the reason I was dropped from A class.” A dangerous light entered his eyes as he said, “That alone would have given me the energy I needed to beat him to death with a nearby tree branch. Alternate dimension magical being or not, I would have managed it.”

Karma grinned at the deadly energy radiating off the other. “I don’t doubt it at all, honestly. You’ve got a lot of repressed aggression in you.” He snorted and took another bite out of the apple. “In fact, I think the real key to taking out Koro-sensei is to just give you a sword made out of the anti-sensei material and telling you to go wild.”

Rolling his eyes at the other, Gakushuu absently pet the top of Vexus’s head, who was sleeping peacefully on his lap. “In all honesty, fighting the starless has already helped with any aggression I might have had beforehand. It’s amazing what stabbing something multiple times with a giant sword will do for your stress levels.”

Karma shook his head in mock exasperation. “And people say that _I’m_ the violent one.”

“That’s because you are.” Gakushuu shot back dryly, leaning further back into the couch. He’d give Karma’s parents this, they knew how to pick a comfortable couch.

Grinning as he tossed the apple core away, Karma said, “And speaking of stabbing things with a giant glowing sword, it’s time for me to head out. I’ll see you later!” With a faint wave he was out the door, accidentally closing it a bit too loudly behind him as he left. 

Startled from his nap, Vexus’s silver eyes blinked open, blearily looking around the room. “...Wha-?” he finally asked after getting his bearings, only to be cut off by a yawn. 

Gakushuu’s lips quirked up at the corner. “Karma is going to be dealing with the starless today, and he’s also going to be hanging out with Nagisa. We pretty much have the house to ourselves for the day.” What he wasn’t saying was pretty clear here, that Karma was taking the Shard for the day so that Vexus could have some space. 

Gakushuu had needed to scold the Shard himself for a while before it finally caved and allowed for more distance to be given between it and its Guardian. 

_Never let it be said that I’m not a terrific debater,_ he thought with a wry grin, _I even managed to out-argue an ageless magical space rock thing._

Vexus nodded and floated up a little. “I see.” he said tonelessly. “Well, I suppose that’s good to hear.”

Gakushuu frowned sympathetically at the other’s obvious low mood. “Do you feel any better than last night?”

“I’m… not sure, honestly.” Vexus said, floating down to land on the pillow beside the teen. “I’m still angrier than I think I’ve ever been, that _certainly_ hasn’t changed.” He sighed, the stars in his body dimming a bit. “But I’m still pretty tired. I guess it isn’t the sort of tired that even sleep can fully help.”

Gakushuu hummed thoughtfully for a moment. “Would you prefer to talk about something else, then? Like I said last night, you really don’t have to deal with this all at once.”

Vexus was silent for a while before glancing over at Gakushuu, something thoughtful in his eyes. “You’re a lot different now than you were when I first met you, brat.”

_...What does he mean by that?_ Gakushuu wondered, blinking his eyes in confusion. Before he could open his mouth to ask though, Vexus began speaking once more. 

“I remembered some things when I saw Thallum.” Vexus said. “I guess seeing a familiar face after this long jogged something in my memory.”

Gakushuu tilted his head in thought at that. “What kind of things did you remember?”

Vexus sighed. “Well,” he began, “I remember that there was a council in our world that governed everyone in our dimension. Thallum and I were both training to become part of the council ourselves one day.”

“Was the council efficient?” Gakushuu asked, curious about how Vexus’s world was run. Even after this long of knowing Vexus he still knew so little about the place the other was from.

Vexus rolled his eyes. “Of course that’s the part you ask about.” he muttered in an exasperated but fond tone of voice. Then, louder, he answered, “Things tended to take time to deal with. There were a lot of meetings where they argued for hours without coming to a conclusion on anything, honestly. Only the wisest people are on the council however, so I’m sure it’s running as smoothly as it can.”

“So the answer is ‘no’, then.” Gakushuu replied, his tone dry as a desert. When Vexus huffed at that but didn’t argue, Gakushuu decided it was time for a topic switch. “So,” he said, “you said that you and Thallum used to be friends?”

Vexus nodded. “We were.” he answered. “We weren’t particularly _close_ , but we were always pretty friendly with each other.” He frowned, confusion clear on his face. “Then… I think he started becoming distant one day. I don’t know what happened or how he turned into… _this_ , but something must have happened.”

“What was he like when you guys were friends?” Gakushuu asked, glancing over at the other. The more information they could gather about the person attacking them, the better.

“Well,” Vexus began thoughtfully, “we were always told that we were basically polar opposites. He was usually pretty outspoken, impatient and he tended to jump head-first into pretty much everything.” Vexus sighed and shook his head. “Despite his magical potential, he managed to get himself into a lot of trouble over time. Nothing serious before this though, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Magical potential?” Gakushuu asked. 

“Oh,” Vexus responded, “yes, Thallum and I were the two that were chosen to join the council because we had the highest magical potential of anyone else. My memories are still pretty fuzzy, but I think we were also recruited because we had the highest chances of becoming the new Guardian of the Cosmic Jewel.”

Gakushuu froze for a second before raising an eyebrow and turning to look at the other, “And let me guess,” he began dryly, “you got chosen instead of him and then he started acting strange suddenly?” At Vexus’s hesitant nod, Gakushuu snorted. “Of course. That explains his behavior, then.”

“Oh?” Vexus asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Gakushuu responded, “that he was _jealous_ of you. Jealous enough to steal the golden emerald of doom.” His description was accompanied by a vague hand wave, uncaring towards its actual title.

_“Chaos Jewel,”_ Vexus corrected blandly. “And, I don’t know… maybe?” Vexus’s eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought, “This just seems a few steps too far, even for _him._ It just… feels like I’m still missing something here.”

Gakushuu frowned, glancing over at the other. “Speaking of which,” he began hesitantly, “did you happen to remember anything about your true form?” He knew it was a sensitive subject, but he hoped that the other had managed to remember something about it, considering how important it was to him.

Vexus’s stars dimmed once more. “No,” he said, “nothing. The only thing I remembered about true forms in general is that the size of your true form is closely tied to how much magical potential you have.”

“Oh,” Gakushuu said, blinking as he thought that over, “that would actually explain why so far the bigger starless have been the most dangerous. They seemed to have extra attacks they could use.” Gakushuu’s ears had been ringing for _weeks_ after dealing with that giant three-headed deer. So much so that occasionally he’d needed to ask Vexus if there was _actually_ a starless around or not. 

They sat in silence like that for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. 

Some time later, Vexus finally spoke up once more, not looking at Gakushuu as he did so. “I think… I think that, more than betrayal or anger, what I’m feeling the most of is _hurt._ ” The light in his eyes dimmed more as he spoke, “I’ve trusted it for so long, and I’ve done my best to fulfill my duties to the best of my abilities during the time I’ve worked with it as well, and…” he trailed off, voice becoming thicker. “...The Cosmic Jewel is supposed to protect us, and bring order to our world. So why would it…?”

Gakushuu exhaled slowly, staring out the nearby window. He pulled his legs up onto the couch as he thought about his father, and the reasons he had given for his harsh teaching methods and the almost completely unreachable ideals Gakushuu had been held to his entire life. 

“Sometimes,” the teen began quietly, his voice almost inaudible, “sometimes I think even the people that might care about you the most, and even mean the best for you, can hurt you more than anyone else. And I think that that sort of pain will always hurt the most, because it comes from a person you’ve already let close to your heart.”

Vexus slowly floated up from the couch and flew up to land gently on Gakushuu’s hair. “I hate it.” he said quietly. “It hurts so _much.”_

Gakushuu placed his hand on his chest, the place he always felt pain from when he thought about his father for too long. “Yeah.” he breathed out, lightly gripping the front of his shirt and slowly closing his eyes to block out the world around him. 

The world was far too _bright_ to hold the painful cruelties it did. He didn’t want to look around and see any more hypocrisy. He really didn’t want to see anything at _all_ right then. He was tired too.

“It does.”


	21. Chapter 21

Alright.

Gakushuu was officially worried.

It took quite a lot to worry him (some might say a bit _too_ much) but Ren not texting back after this long was a legitimate cause for concern. 

If it were someone else, perhaps not. Most people couldn’t be counted on to text back _quickly_ at any point. Or... even at all, really. And on top of that, Gakushuu could not say that he particularly cared enough about the wellbeing of most people to become worried about them, on-time texts or no. 

But Ren was different. 

Gakushuu was almost convinced at one point that Ren’s phone was just _glued_ to his hand (when a book wasn’t, that is) and that he had somehow developed the ability to _sleep text._

He had even once caught the other texting in the middle of class and, despite Gakushuu’s harsh scoldings about it later, he got the feeling that Ren still continued to do it when he wasn’t looking. 

So the fact that Ren hadn’t answered _any_ of his texts since the night of the school festival? 

Very concerning.

Biting his lip as he stared up at the clock, Gakushuu mentally calculated about where Ren would be right now. It was nearly time for the classes in the main campus to change, so he would likely be walking the hallways soon. 

That meant that this was the best time for him to corner the brunette to figure out what was going on. 

Quickly standing up from his chair, he bolted out of the room with a vague wave to Koro-sensei as he went, glad that he didn’t even need to make up an excuse for skipping out on a lesson. 

Vexus floated beside him as he ran down the mountain, glancing over at him curiously after a few minutes. “So what’s going on, kid? There aren’t any starless around for us to fight right now, so where are we going in such a hurry?”

Gakushuu hopped over a branch before looking over at his companion. The other’s mood had improved a bit over the few days that had passed, though he understandably still seemed more glum than usual. “I’m going to go find Ren to check on him. He hasn’t texted me back since the festival and it’s making me a little anxious.”

Looking puzzled, Vexus asked, “What could have happened to him?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Gakushuu began hesitantly with a small frown, “but... I can’t say I have a very good feeling about it.”

Jumping the fence separating the mountain from the main campus, Gakushuu slowed to a brisk walk so he wouldn’t stand out _too_ much. He quickly headed to the area he knew Ren would be passing through at that time to get to his next class. 

He swiftly ducked down the hallway, ignoring how _bizarre_ it felt to be in the main campus building again, and began his search for the brunette. He carefully looked around the, thankfully, mostly empty hallway for the other. 

Eyes finally landing on the back of a familiar head, he advanced towards him and grabbed the other’s shoulder, pulling him backwards. 

“Ren,” he said, turning the other around, “there you-” His eyes widened and his voice caught in his throat. Something was wrong here. 

_Very_ wrong. 

Perhaps he would have needed more time to notice that something was wrong with someone else, but he had known Ren since they were both _seven_. Half of a second’s glance was all that he needed to see that Ren’s green eyes, normally sharp with intelligence, had gained a sickly, _dull_ glaze over them. Not only that, but his hair wasn’t as neat as he normally kept it, and his clothes were wrinkled.

He showed no recognition upon seeing Gakushuu, only mumbling something about destroying E-Class before continuing his walk to class as though he had never been stopped, movements slow and unfocused.

Gakushuu grimaced but let him go, not knowing what else to do. Glancing around, he spotted a boy he recognized from C-Class who had watched what happened with a vague look of worry in his eyes. He quickly made his way to the other and pulled him aside, ignoring the surprised look on the boy’s face at being addressed by him. 

“Do you know what happened to him?” Gakushuu asked, getting straight to the point. 

The boy shifted from foot to foot, glancing away nervously, clearly unsure how much he should tell the now ex-student council president. Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at him dangerously, causing the boy to wince back and put his hands up defensively. 

“I’m not entirely sure, okay?” he said nervously, glancing around the hallways like he expected something to jump out at him. “I just know that he and the other three of the Big Five- uh,” he paused and frowned awkwardly before correcting himself, “Or Four, I guess now? Anyway, those four went into the principal’s office after the festival and they were just… like _that_ after.”

Gakushuu felt his face paling rapidly as the boy continued, “And he went to go teach A-Class personally this morning and I don’t know what happened but,” he grimaced, “they all kind of look like that now.”

“I see.” Gakushuu responded distantly, feeling a bit ill. “That was all I needed to know. You should head to class.” Without waiting for a response he turned on his heel and walked back out of the building, moving solely on autopilot. 

Fuck.

_Fuck._

His father _brainwashed_ him! And all of A-Class!

What the _fuck!?_

He paused for a moment before taking a quick, deep breath in and holding it. 

Then, slowly, he let it out, clearing his mind with it. 

Hopping the fence once more, he blindly wandered into the forest, seeing and hearing nothing around him as he went. 

After some unknown amount of time he came upon a small clearing and sat on a large rock sitting in the center of it. He scrubbed at his face as he tried to come to terms with everything that had happened. 

“Uh… kid?” Vexus asked, looking hesitant as he floated in front of him. “What, um… what’s going on?”

Gakushuu blinked at him slowly before staring up at the sky. “My father has apparently decided to brainwash all of A-Class to further his goals.”

“I…” Vexus shook his head incredulously, “he _what?”_

“Brainwashed them.” Gakushuu answered dispassionately, his voice empty of emotion. “He twisted their minds until beating E-Class is all they can think of, completely fueled by anger. I recognize his handiwork.”

_“What the fuck?”_ Vexus demanded.

“Yeah.” Gakushuu said, not moving his gaze from the sky. “I agree.”

Vexus waited silently for a few moments before cautiously asking, “So are you… okay?”

“Probably not.” Gakushuu let his arms go limp at his sides as he lied down, not having the energy to move. 

“...’Probably’?” Vexus questioned, floating a bit closer to his Chosen. 

“Well,” Gakushuu began, “I learned a long time ago that if I just let my mind go completely blank for a while, my emotions will be much more manageable, or even just gone completely, by the time I turn them back on again.”

“I…” Vexus trailed off, the concern in his voice growing. “So you just _shut down?_ Kid…” he floated down to land on the flat rock his Chosen was laying on, “that doesn’t sound very healthy.”

“Perhaps not.” Gakushuu said, slowly closing his eyes. “But it works. Besides, I have been trained to be a machine my whole life. So if I wish to act as one for my own gain, then…” he waved his hand vaguely, “so be it.”

Vexus found that he had nothing to say to that. There was nothing he _could_ say. So instead, he asked quietly, “Are you going to go back to class?”

Gakushuu hummed tonelessly. “Maybe later. I think I’ll just stay here for a while, though. I’d... rather not be around a lot of people right now.”

Vexus nodded despite the fact that he knew the teenager could not see him. “Alright. I’ll just sit here with you, then.” He floated up from the rock and landed instead on top of the strawberry blonde’s chest, hoping that he could provide some comfort that way.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Gakushuu quietly spoke, his voice nearly inaudible, “Thanks, Vexus.”

Vexus did not ask what he was being thanked for. He simply nodded and curled in further.

The world could wait.

—

When the two of them finally made their way back to class, they found that it had just ended for the day. 

Walking into the room, Gakushuu walked back to his desk and let Vexus float down to rest on it before speaking loudly enough to get everyone’s attention. “Pardon me,” he said, “but I have a favor I need to ask from all of you.”

Multiple pairs of eyes turned to look at him curiously, all wondering what he would say. 

“I need you all to assassinate my father.”

There were multiple gasps in the room before the teen amended, “Well, his ideals anyway. It would be foolish to ask you all to assassinate him as a person.”

“You really need to work on your phrasing, dude.” Terasaka grumbled, having just choked on the soda he’d been drinking. 

Isogai stepped forward, a worried expression on his face. “Has something happened, Asano?”

Gakushuu nodded. “Yes. It seems that the principal has taken over teaching A-Class’s lessons himself.” His lips tightened a bit as he continued, “And I can confirm from experience that his methods of teaching are hell on earth. The average student has no chance against them.” He clenched his fists at his sides and stared down at his desk. “That’s why I need all of you to beat A-Class in the finals. Having E-Class beat the top class, especially after the principal himself taught them personally, is the only way to finally prove to him that his methods are faulty.”

There was a beat of silence as the class absorbed that.

Suddenly, someone’s arm was slung over his shoulder, causing him to look back up in surprise. 

Karma grinned at him, a taunting look on his face. “Ehhh? What’s this about ‘you all’?” He shook his head in a mock-disappointed manner. “You’re acting like you’re not part of this class too. Or,” he grinned again, causing Gakushuu’s eyebrow to twitch on instinct, knowing the redhead was about to annoy him, “have you finally given up on beating me? I don’t blame you if you have of course. Especially since there’s no way you’ll- _agh!”_ Karma bent forward, wheezing from the sudden pain in his gut. 

Removing his elbow from the annoyance’s stomach, Gakushuu smiled frigidly at him. “As if.” he stated. “I plan to get first place as usual, of course. I’m only asking the rest of you to beat A-Class as well.”

Taking a step back from the other and absently rubbing at his injured midsection, Karma smirked at him. “Don’t get too sure of yourself there. I _do_ actually plan to get first place this time, after all.”

The class watched in collective fascination as calculating violet eyes met sharp golden eyes, their competitiveness almost _tangible_ in the air around them as they stared each other down, both smiling dangerously at the challenge. 

“Asano,” Isogai said, getting the teen’s attention and breaking the duo's impromptu staring competition, “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we plan on doing our best during the finals no matter what. Not just to beat the main campus, but also for ourselves. Everyone is going to give this their all, so please do the same yourself.” He smiled brightly, eyes shining with pure sincerity. 

Gakushuu once again found himself wanting a pair of sunglasses. No one’s smile should be that bright or genuine. It just wasn’t _natural._

…..He wondered if he could recreate it. 

For scientific reasons of course. Certainly not to control others easier! _Heavens_ no. 

“I have a question if you don’t mind, Asano?” Kataoka said, knocking the other teen from his train of thought. When she got an answering nod, she continued, “You’ve mentioned that your father’s tactics can get pretty underhanded. Could you expand on what sort of extent they can go to so we know what we’re up against better?”

Gakushuu found himself mildly impressed by the question. It was good to know your enemy after all. He just... wasn’t really in the mood to talk about the man.

But they were on his side now, and a brief example of what the principal was like was the least he could do. 

After thinking it over for a moment, Gakushuu finally spoke, “I suppose I could use the pole-toppling event as an example. The original deal made was that Isogai’s part time job would not be exposed if he won. And, while I may have called in some help for the event itself, I did not go back on my word after my loss.”

He stared the class down blankly, willing them to understand exactly the sort of man they were up against. “My father would not have done that. Not only would he have likely stacked the deck even _further_ in his favor but, if he lost, I can guarantee you that Isogai’s job would have mysteriously been revealed in a way that couldn’t be traced back to the guilty party.” Seeing the troubled looks on their faces, he continued, “He does his best to win at _any_ cost, and he doesn’t take anything even _resembling_ a loss well at all.”

“He sounds like a real ray of sunshine.” Rio piped up sarcastically from where she sat perched on Yada’s desk.

“Yeah, it runs in the family.” Gakushuu shot back dryly. 

Yoshida’s eyes widened as he leaned towards Muramatsu. “Did… did he just tell a joke?” he questioned incredulously, only to be met with an equally surprised shrug. 

“So!” Karma said, grinning challengingly. “I vote that we study together so that whoever scores higher is _truly_ the smarter one.”

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at the other, competitive fire welling up inside of him as he smiled back sharply. Grabbing his bag and putting it on, they began their walk to the door, both of them too caught up in their conversation to remember their audience. 

“Fine,” Gakushuu said on his way out as Vexus floated over to land on his head, “but if you hog the blanket on the couch while we’re studying again, I’m going to put my frozen toes directly onto your bare skin.”

Karma gasped as though wounded, his mischievous smile not dropping even a little. “How could you accuse me of something so horrible? I-”

The class couldn’t hear anything after that, their voices too far away. 

“You know,” Rio said, eyes bright with barely repressed amusement, “most couples don’t need to be _told_ that they’re dating, and yet…”

Nagisa smiled from his seat, happy that his friends seemed happy.

_I think they’ll figure everything out pretty soon. They might be clueless, but they’re pretty smart too. I’m just glad they both have someone there for them right now._

_I think they both needed that more than they knew._


	22. Chapter 22

_“Agh!”_

“I warned you.” 

Karma grumbled as he unwrapped some of the blankets from around himself and threw them onto the now smugly smiling irritation on his couch. How the hell did his toes manage to get colder than the air itself? 

Maybe his soul was leaking. 

Huffing a quiet laugh at his imagined insult to the other, Karma slid a bit closer to help warm him up with shared body heat. It wouldn’t be any fun if the other got sick right before the test after all. That was his sole reason for getting closer, of course. No other reason.

Leaning into the warmth like a particularly content cat, Gakushuu held the textbook in his hands open a bit wider so Karma could get a better look at it. 

It was finally the night before the test, and both of them felt simultaneously over and underprepared for the upcoming exam. They had no idea what all the principal would throw at them, but they found that studying together helped to ease their nerves about the test.

Not that they were planning to _admit_ that, of course.

They had studied with Nagisa a few times, which normally just turned into them tutoring him, but for the most part they just stayed in the house together as they went over every subject multiple times. The both of them had also taken up the difficult task of making sure the other didn’t _study to death._

Not something they thought they’d need to do, but after Gakushuu found Karma asleep face-down in a plate of take out and Karma noticed that Gakushuu was picking up his rocket fuel drinking habit again, they both decided an intervention was needed. Now they kept a closer eye on each other to make sure they weren’t overdoing it _too_ much.

And as such, it was Karma who finally sighed and stood up after looking at the time. “Alright,” he said through a yawn, “I think it’s time for us to go to sleep. It won’t mean anything to beat you if you sleep through the test tomorrow.”

Narrowing his eyes up at the other, Gakushuu shot back, “Funny, I was thinking the same thing about _my_ victory tomorrow.”

Karma grinned at the challenge he saw coiled in those violet eyes, glinting sharply in the low light of the room. It was… _nice_ to have someone who could stand on equal ground with him. Someone who actively pushed him to do better, just by being equally talented himself. He smiled and held out his hand to help the other off the couch, a silent offer of a truce for the moment. His grin widened when the other rolled his eyes and took it, standing up and dusting himself off.

Having a rival was turning out to be more fun than he could have guessed. 

Who knew?

…

“Hey, could you hand me the eggs from the fridge?”

“Oh, sure.”

Gakushuu reached into the fridge and passed the redhead beside him the carton of eggs before going back to brewing the coffee. After hitting the button to start the machine up, he walked over to the toaster and put a few slices in for the both of them. 

Sitting down at the counter as he waited for the other to finish cooking the eggs, he was suddenly hit by the pure domesticity of the moment. His own hair was in slight disarray as he hadn’t gotten around to combing it yet, and Karma was humming in front of the stove as he stirred the eggs in the pan, his normal jacket tossed over the edge of a nearby chair. The smell of brewing coffee wafted through the air as the chirping of birds came in through the open window, adding to the peaceful atmosphere. 

With the exception of perhaps Ren, Gakushuu didn’t think that he’d ever been this comfortable around someone in his _life._

He… couldn’t say that he hated it, really. 

Almost without them realizing it, they had fallen into a rhythm while living with each other, cohabiting more peacefully than they would have ever _dreamed_ possible at the beginning. 

Perhaps it came from the trust they now held in each other, both trusting the other to watch their back while they were fighting something stronger than the average starless. They hadn’t needed to take on many large starless since the three-headed deer, but it tended to be a two person job each time one came up. Both of them needing to switch off with the sword when they needed to catch their breath and recover for a few minutes. Thankfully, Vexus was able to alert them to the general size of the starless they were up against before they got there. 

Speaking of the little shifter… Gakushuu glanced over at Vexus, seeing that he had nuzzled deep in the bed of fabrics they had made for him, his silver eyes closed despite the fact that he wasn’t really sleeping at the moment. 

He had refused to sleep inside the Shard since the incident, so they created a little nest for him to sleep on instead. He had been utterly delighted and now could be found curled up there when he wasn’t resting on top of Gakushuu’s head. 

“So,” Karma said, bringing Gakushuu out of his train of thought as he set the plate of eggs down onto the table, “the test is today.”

Gakushuu nodded. “It is.” he confirmed. Looking up at the other, he tilted his head and asked curiously, “Are you nervous?” Personally, he hadn’t felt nervous about a test since he was... maybe eight? He had gotten used to being tested much earlier than most children. 

His entire life was a test, after all. 

Shaking his head, Karma responded, “Eh, not really.” He grinned at the other, his sharp teeth on display as he declared, “If anything, I’m just excited to beat you so I can rub my victory in your face.”

Rolling his eyes, Gakushuu dryly responded, “Please go back to bed if you plan on entertaining dreams like that.” He took a bite from his breakfast, cursing himself for not waiting for the coffee to finish brewing before he sat down so he could already have a cup instead of needing to get up for one. 

“By the way,” Karma began, looking distinctly uncomfortable but determined all the same, “no matter which one of us scores higher… we’ll still be chill, right?”

Gakushuu blinked in surprise for a few moments, not having expected that. Then, exhaling slowly and smiling reassuringly up at the other, he said, “Yes. Even if you score higher than me, I won’t be upset with you.” Then, smirking challengingly at the other, “Not that that will happen, of course.”

Shaking off his momentary hesitance, Karma matched his grin. “Be prepared to eat those words. In fact,” he said, grin widening further, “how about this? Loser does the dishes for a week.”

Raising his eyebrow at that, Gakushuu replied mildly, “I suppose that’s fine. You already do the dishes anyway, so it’s not like anything will change.”

They both shared one last competitive smirk before turning back to finishing their breakfast. 

They had a long day ahead of them. 

—

It was finally time for the results to be posted and Gakushuu found himself a bit… on edge. 

He had been completely certain of himself up until the very last question. It was…

Well, had he not joined this class, Gakushuu was certain he wouldn’t have been able to figure it out until it was much too late. 

As it was, however, he managed to write down _most_ of the answer before he ran out of time. 

He could only hope it would be enough. 

When Koro-sensei posted the list of the top 50 at the front of the classroom, everyone got up to see where they fell on the list. He bit the inside of his list as he approached the list, feeling the tension inside of himself rise. Eyes widening as he finally brought his gaze up to the paper, Gakushuu felt his stomach drop.

_Ah…,_ he thought, his mind feeling like it was enveloped in a fog, _I…_

_I didn’t get first place._

Staring back at him was his damning score of 499, _one point_ away from being a perfect score. Karma’s score of 500 sat right above his, taking the coveted top spot. 

Blankly glancing over at the other out of the corner of his eye, Gakushuu saw Karma staring up at the list with wide eyes. He could see the surprise in his expression, the other looking too dazed for even joy. It seemed that, despite all of his boasting to the contrary, he hadn’t really expected to get the number one spot.

And Gakushuu hadn’t expected to lose it. 

The class around them was silent, glancing between the both of them cautiously. They knew how competitive the two of them were, so now they waited with bated breath to see how the both of them would react to the results. 

Karma turned his head to look at Gakushuu then, a cautious and searching look on his face. 

With a resigned sigh, Gakushuu smiled at the other, disappointed with the results but unwilling to let his friend think that he was somehow upset or angry with him about it.

Taking the smile as the olive branch it was meant as, Karma grinned back in return. “Guess you’re going to be stuck doing the dishes for a while, huh?”

Rolling his eyes at the other good-naturedly, he responded, “It does seem that that’s the case.” Lips quirking up and eyes softening a bit, he smiled at the hints of surprise he could still see in the other’s expression. He may be frustrated at his loss, but he found that he was happy for the other. He saw exactly how hard the other studied and pushed himself behind the scenes. If Gakushuu himself couldn’t get the top score, he was glad that Karma could instead. “Congratulations, I suppose. You deserve it.”

Karma’s cheeks reddened a bit at the unexpected praise, prompting the rest of the class to congratulate him as well, each of them piling on their own kudos onto him. Not knowing what to do with the sudden positive attention directed at him, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he looked away from everyone. 

Gakushuu’s smile became more natural as he observed the other’s flustered attempts to compose himself, only blushing more fully in the process. It was… surprisingly cute, really.

(And if Gakushuu’s face suddenly became a little red itself, well that didn’t matter because no one was looking to see it.)

“Congrats, Gakushuu!” Nagisa said happily, having already congratulated Karma. He was happy to see both of his friends doing so well! He knew that they deserved it, especially considering how hard they studied. 

Smiling fondly down at his blue haired friend, Gakushuu responded, “Congratulations to you as well. I see that you’ve also scored rather high this time. I’m impressed.”

“A lot of that is because you guys helped me study so much.” Nagisa replied feeling a little embarrassed. “Thanks for that, by the way. Sorry if it was a bother.”

Gakushuu shook his head lightly. “It wasn’t any trouble at all, don’t worry.” He felt his mood pick up a bit more at Nagisa’s relieved smile. Maybe he didn't score the top spot, but...

The world didn't end.

And, as his new classmates began to congratulate him as well, he found that maybe second place wasn't the terrible thing he had always been led to believe it was. For some strange reason, he found that more than anything, he just felt a sense of relief. 

After letting the congratulations go on for a few more minutes, Koro-sensei finally approached the both of them. “I want to congratulate the both of you for getting the two highest scores of your year!” He smiled gently down at them as he softly placed a tentacle on the tops of their heads, ruffling their hair a bit. His voice lost its normal overly-jovial tone, leaving behind something that was simply genuine and happy as he spoke, “You both put in a lot of effort. I’ve seen how seriously you’ve taken this, on top of the other things you’ve been dealing with lately that surely would have completely taken the average student out of the running! You’ve both done well, and I’m so _proud_ of the both of you.”

Karma and Gakushuu both stared at the ground at that, the praise from an adult who genuinely _cared_ about them hitting them both closer to the heart than they’d ever dare to admit.

_Okay,_ Gakushuu thought as he tried to ignore the burning in his face, _maybe the tentacle can stay where it is this time._

_Just this once._

“Okay class,” Koro-sensei said as he finally pulled his tentacles back, “as promised, it’s time for me to reveal one of my biggest weaknesses-”

**_BANG_ **

The class gasped as the building shook from the force of what sounded like a large impact with the side of the building. Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to the window to look out and see what the commotion was. 

Gakushuu felt a pit of dread begin to build in his stomach when he saw what caused the noise. 

There, standing beside a large bulldozer posed to demolish the building…

Was his father.


	23. Chapter 23

A fucking bulldozer. He brought a _fucking bulldozer_ with him. 

Alright, okay. Sure. 

_Why not?_

And to make matters even worse somehow, he could feel a faint ringing begin to build in his ears. Vexus had gone into the forest earlier, saying that there was something he wanted to check out, so he couldn’t even ask him about it.

Whatever, now wasn’t the time to worry about a starless. He could get to it after dealing with his _clearly psychotic father._

Who… was now talking about tearing down this building, sending them to prison schools, and firing Koro-sensei. The being that _literally_ threatened to blow up the world unless they let him teach here. 

Alright, so the man had finally gone off the deep end. Well, Gakushuu supposed it had only been a matter of time really. Truthfully, he had lost his mind roughly eleven years prior. It was just that now it was becoming more obvious. 

“Asano-kun.” the man said as he entered the building. His eyes were trained on the teen before him, a colder look than normal in them.

“Principal.” Gakushuu greeted, his tone dry as a desert. 

“What kind of family fucking addresses each other that way?” Terasaka grumbled in the back of the group, his words ignored by everyone.

“You must realize that this is a terrible idea?” Gakushuu questioned, raising an eyebrow at the man. 

The man hummed, his tone mock-pleasant as he spoke, “I don’t believe you’re in any position to offer your opinion here, Asano-kun, considering your recent failure.”

_“Failure?”_ Yoshida repeated, genuine confusion in his voice. “But he scored the second highest out of the entire _school!”_

The man didn’t even bother to look at him as he answered, “And Asano-kun is well aware that anything lower than first place is unacceptable.” He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked down at his son. “You showed such promise Asano-kun. It’s truly a shame to see how far you’ve fallen.” 

Karma scowled from where he stood beside Koro-sensei, his arms crossed in irritation. “Why haven’t you stepped in yet?” he hissed quietly to his teacher. He was getting tempted to interfere himself, honestly.

Koro-sensei leaned in a bit closer but was careful to keep his eyes on the scene before him as he murmured back, “This is Asano-kun’s fight to overcome. It wouldn’t help anything if I were to step in right now. He needs to deal with this on his own.”

Gakushuu ignored the ringing in his ears slowly growing louder as he glared up at his father. “I don’t believe I’ve fallen at all, actually. I’m quite enjoying where I am at the moment.”

“You used to be strong.” the man said, contempt clear in his voice and gaze. “Yet you’ve become so _weak._ And you’ll be trampled underfoot like all the others who couldn’t handle the harshness of reality and rise above it.”

Gakushuu raised his chin as he stared the man down. “I think you’ll find that I’m no less intelligent now than I used to be and I’m _exactly_ as capable as I’ve always been.” The ringing in his ears increased once more. He shook his head slightly to help clear it. “That hasn’t changed at all.”

The principal looked down his nose at the other. “You’ve become content with mediocrity. You could have been so much _better.”_

“No,” Gakushuu said, fist clenching at his side, “I can’t be any better than the version of myself I choose to be at any moment. Your expectations have _nothing_ to do with my worth.” It had taken him a while to figure it out, but it was something he _knew_ now. Could feel the truth of it deep in his bones.

Frowning sternly at the surety in the other’s tone, the principal spoke, his voice crisp and detached with an undercurrent of rising agitation, “I’m disappointed in you. How could any son of mine come in second place? It’s utterly _disgraceful.”_

“I’m disappointed in you as well.” Gakushuu said dispassionately, _contempt_ leaking into the violet of his eyes as he spoke. “I believe you were actually a good educator at one point. But now you just drag students down and call it _progress._ And all of this,” he gestured vaguely to the bulldozer outside and the papers in the other’s grasp to fire Koro-sensei, “is just you throwing a _tantrum_ because things aren’t going the way you want anymore.” 

He continued boldly despite the darkness growing in the other’s gaze, refusing to back down now that he was finally getting the chance to speak his mind. “You just can’t stand that we beat A-Class even after you taught them _yourself,_ because it means that your methods really _are_ incorrec-”

  
  


**_SMACK_ **

  
  


Everyone watched in wide-eyed shock and horror as Gakushuu flew _across the room_ at the impact to his face, slamming into two separate desks only to be caught by Koro-sensei before he could hit the far wall. 

_“Gakushuu!”_ Karma yelled, alarmed as he ran over to him along with his other classmates. He knelt down in front of the other and distantly found himself realizing that his friend had been hit so hard that his necklace had actually _come out of his shirt._ The fury he could feel building deep in the bowels of his soul was interrupted however, by a frankly _alarming_ laugh from Gakushuu. 

Rubbing his hand absently against where he was hit, Gakushuu looked up and stared at his father as he chuckled. The man was staring down at his hand as though he was confused. _Good._ “You look like you’re glitching out.” Gakushuu murmured just loud enough to be heard by him.

As the man continued to stare down at his now-twitching hand, Gakushuu’s laugh grew from a low chuckle to something high and loud and so, so terribly _damaged_ as his eyes filled with bitter vindication. “You asked how I could come in second place?” he asked, sitting propped up in his teacher’s grasp. “You’re unbelievable. After all, I’ve _always_ been second place to you, haven’t I? I’ve never been enough for you since that student of yours died and _I never will be.”_

The man’s face twitched at that, finally glancing over at his son. But Gakushuu looked away. He didn’t want to see whatever emotion he might find in the depths of those eyes. He didn’t think he could handle it right now.

_“Kid!”_

Head snapping up at Vexus’s panicked shout as he zoomed in through the window, Gakushuu’s eyes widened at the other’s clearly alarmed state. “Vexus? What’s going on?” he asked. Thankful for the healing the Shard gave him, Gakushuu moved to sit up on his own without support, already feeling a bit better. 

Vexus was practically _vibrating_ in place as he exclaimed, “The biggest starless yet! Thallum must really be pulling out all the stops because I’ve _never_ seen one this big!” He floated closer to the window as he continued, “You need to go deal with it _now_ before it wanders into civilization and starts killing people, kid!”

“Wh…”

All heads snapped back towards the principal, who had been momentarily forgotten until that point, all of them too caught up in Vexus’s news. 

The person who, Gakushuu realized a few seconds too late, was looking _right at Vexus._

The man now looked utterly confused for _completely_ different reasons than before. His eyes flickered between Gakushuu, Vexus, and the Shard glowing from the end of the necklace around the teen’s neck, clearly trying to puzzle out what was going on. 

Finally realizing what must have happened, Gakushuu resisted the urge to just swear loudly and with abandon. The force of the impact must have caused the Shard to fly up with so much force that it _tapped his father’s hand._

_Fucking wonderful,_ he thought. _That’s exactly what needed to happen today._

_I just can’t catch a goddamn break, can I?_

Scowling darkly as he slowly got to his feet, Gakushuu glared at the man standing across the room who had taken a step forward, looking as though he was preparing to ask about the situation with something almost like _concern_ in his gaze. Gakushuu held up his hand to cut him off. “No.” he said resolutely. “I’m not dealing with this right now. I’m going to go take care of what I need to take care of and _you,”_ he frowned and shook his head in disgust as he gestured to the documents still clenched in the other’s left hand, “you stay here and carry out your plan and focus on your goals. That’s all you care about, after all.” 

Without waiting for a response, Gakushuu pivoted on his heel and jumped out of the open window, barreling into the woods at top speeds in the direction he could sense the starless’s presence originating from. 

Jumping over fallen logs and boulders and ducking under low hanging branches, Gakushuu did his best to clear his mind for the fight he knew was ahead of him. 

Vexus, flying beside him, glanced over at him in worry. “Are you okay kid? That’s a hell of a bruise you’ve got forming on your cheek there.” What exactly had happened while he was gone...?

“I’m _fine.”_ Gakushuu said as he jumped over a small stream. “Hell, I should be _thrilled_ if anything.”

“And why’s that?” Vexus asked, flying a bit closer.

“My father finally snapped when his methods of teaching were proven ineffective. I’ve been waiting for this moment since I was a child.” Gakushuu kept his eyes in front of him as he ran, his lips tightening.

Resisting the urge to remind him that he was still a child, Vexus instead carefully asked, “Then… why do you look so unhappy?”

Fists clenched, Gakushuu snapped back irritably, “I _am_ happy! This is what I’ve been waiting _eleven goddamn years for,_ after all!” He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in his frustration and he continued harshly, “I’ve spent so much fucking time working towards this goal and it’s _here now! His failure has finally been rubbed in his face!”_

Vexus watched, concerned as Gakushuu nearly ran into a tree as he continued, “The thing that I’ve been working so hard to see for so long is here so why…” he trailed off and rubbed stubbornly at his eyes. “Why aren’t I happy yet?”

“Kid…” Vexus said, eyes softening as he flew even closer, hoping to provide some comfort. 

“I wasn’t happy for _so_ long, and I thought… I thought that I _would_ be once I fulfilled my goal, but…” he swallowed thickly. “But for some reason, I think I feel _worse_ right now. _Why?”_ he demanded angrily of no one. “Why can’t I just be happy? _Why is that?”_

Floating over and landing on the other’s shoulder, Vexus offered the only support he was able to. “I’m sorry, kid. I wish I knew what to say to help right now, but I really don’t. I’m here for you though, if that helps any. And your other friends are here for you too.”

Taking a moment to breathe and shove his emotions back down where they belonged, Gakushuu aimed a slightly strained but genuine smile at his friend. “Thanks.” he said simply, not in the mood to say more than that.

After running in silence for a while longer, Gakushuu glanced up and nearly ran into a tree for a completely different reason. 

There in the distance, so tall that it was visible even from _this_ far away, was the _biggest_ starless that Gakushuu had ever _seen._ It wasn’t as though he thought Vexus had been exaggerating, but... _holy shit._

He watched in horror as it opened its monstrous jaws and fired out some kind of destructive beam at the area in front of itself in the distance. He could hear the sound of multiple trees falling at once, all destroyed from that _one_ blast. 

Now close enough for the monster to sense him, Gakushuu held his breath as though that could somehow help him as the monster slowly turned its enormous body around to face his direction. 

It opened its dripping, fang-filled mouth…

  
  


And _roared._


	24. Chapter 24

“That’s so fucking big, what the fuck.”

Gakushuu stared wide eyed at the _(_ _thankfully_ _)_ slowly approaching monster. He had jumped to the side and landed behind a bush to dodge the shockwave from the monster’s roar, his hands clamped over his ears. Now he was sitting on the ground, blindly watching the starless creep closer and closer. 

“That’s _unreasonably_ huge. Nothing should ever be that size, oh my _god.”_

_“Kid.”_

“It’s so fucking enourmous. ...Ren probably would have made a joke by now if he could hear me, honestly.”

_“Kid, you need to focus!”_ Vexus hissed loudly, glancing between the slowly approaching monster and the dazed teen. 

Gakushuu blinked up at Vexus before furrowing his brow and hissing back, “Well I’m sorry, but what the _fuck_ do you expect me to be able to do about _Hugeass McLaserbreath over there!?”_ He jabbed his finger furiously in the direction of the creature as he spoke, irritation and something like panic beginning to enter his gaze. “Hell,” he continued, “I don’t even think having Karma here right now would help!”

“Well you need to do _something!”_ Vexus urged nervously.

“Like _what!?”_ Gakushuu demanded, gesturing wildly. “Stab its big toe?? Vexus, it is at _least_ 25 stories tall!” Glancing back towards the creature, Gakushuu swore and got up to move.

Vexus frowned as he followed his Chosen out of the area. It seemed like he was moving and changing position so it would take the monster longer to find and get to them. Not a bad plan, but it couldn’t go on forever.

“I can go get Karma so you aren’t fighting this thing alone?” he offered weakly, not knowing what to do to help.

“What, so he can get stepped on _too?!?”_ Gakushuu snarked back, his voice slightly shaky from nerves. He didn’t want to admit it, but all he was doing currently was running and hiding. As he heard the booming sounds of the footsteps slowly getting closer, he felt his heartbeat begin to pick up. 

What was he supposed to _do?_ Maybe… 

Maybe he could climb it enough to stab it in the throat?

Out of time and other options, Gakushuu quickly scaled a nearby tree, waiting for the creature to get close enough before jumping forward and latching onto its leg.

It’s body was like a solid _gel_ under his fingers. He wrinkled his nose as his fingers seemed to slowly _sink_ into its flesh, but quickly shrugged the feeling off. Digging his fingers and shoes into it, he began to slowly make his way up the back of the monster, hopefully out of its line of sight. With any luck, it wouldn’t notice him.

But if the last few months have taught him anything, it’s that his luck is shit and the world hates him specifically. 

He was halfway up the back of the creature's leg when one of its arms swung backwards and smacked him off its body and into a nearby tree. The air was forced from his lungs as his back slammed into the tree, leaving him gasping for breath on the ground, propped up on his hands and knees. He slowly looked up at the creature, wheezing as he shakily got to his feet. 

Once he felt like he could breathe properly again, he glanced over at Vexus who was floating over to him, concern clear in his gaze. Despite how much Gakushuu had resented the other at first for forcing him to fight the starless, he had realized over time that Vexus actually _did_ care about his safety, and worried when he got hurt. 

There wasn’t much he could do to reassure the other currently, however. Not with the monster turning back around and stalking towards him once more. 

Before he could react, the creature reached down and grabbed him, lifting him up into the air. Gakushuu pushed down on the panic he felt trying to claw its way up his throat as the monster lifted him high in the air above its fang-filled mouth, clearly intending to drop him in. 

He needed a new plan and he needed it _now._

“Defend!” he called, thinking quickly and holding his arm out and grabbing the glowing sword as it appeared. Swinging it downward in one fluid motion, he stabbed it directly into the monster's hand and twisted it around wildly to cause as much pain as he could. Then, pulling the sword out, he jabbed it in once more as deeply as he could.

Roaring in agony, the creature flung him away reflexively, sending Gakushuu flying rapidly through the air towards a large grouping of trees. 

_“Float!”_ Gakushuu yelled, desperation overtaking him as he squeezed his eyes shut, wind whipping violently around him. When he felt his descent begin to slow down, he opened his eyes once more, looking down at the ground to decide where he would need to land.

Finally touching down beside the base of a tree, he began to pant heavily, adrenaline coursing through his veins. 

“Oh what the fuck.” he muttered to himself, staring blankly at the ground.

“Kid!” Vexus called as he flew over to him. “Are you okay!?”

“Well,” Gakushuu began, absently stretching his body to take stock of any injuries, “it feels like my body is just one giant _bruise_ , but I seem to be fine other than that.” He slowly looked back at the creature, craning his head up to see all of it. “Vexus, I-”

“I know, kid.” Vexus said, staring at it too. “Like I said, there’s never been one this big before. ...I wish I knew what to tell you to help with this, but I’m as lost as you are.”

Gakushuu grasped the Shard in his hand and looked down at it. Maybe… he could ask it what to do?

What could it really hurt at this point?

Glancing at the monster, Gakushuu turned and ran in the opposite direction, hoping to get far enough away to buy enough time to ask the Shard for advice.

Once he was an acceptable distance away, he skid to a halt and leaned against a tree as he tried to catch his breath. Focusing inwards, he did his best to clear his mind, silently asking the Shard what they should do about the starless. 

Vexus watched, feeling his worry grow as his Chosen stood silently for a few moments, eyes closed. He could tell that the other was talking with the Shard, but what was being said…?

Slowly opening his eyes, Gakushuu looked over at Vexus, confusion in his gaze. “Vexus…” he began, still gripping the Shard, “what’s voidless?”

_“What!?”_ Vexus demanded, eyes widening in shock. “This situation isn’t _nearly_ bad enough to call for that!”

Gakushuu felt a spike of alarm hit him at that. What could make Vexus react like that? He focused inward again before looking back up at his floating companion. “The Shard is insisting that it is.” He narrowed his eyes. “Vexus, what the _hell_ is voidless?”

“...Voidless,” Vexus began hesitantly, “is the opposite of starless. Where the Chaos Jewel can create starless, the Cosmic Jewel can create the voidless.” 

Gakushuu’s grip in the necklace tightened. “Oh?” he asked. 

Vexus’s stars began to dim as he continued, “The problem is that becoming a starless completely takes over your mind with thoughts of destruction. And… becoming voidless will take over your mind as well. You’d be driven by the desire for order, and would do whatever it took to eliminate chaos.”

Eyes widening at that, Gakushuu stared at him in disbelief. “So, what,” he began, “the Shard wants to make me into some sort of… of _light zombie?”_

Vexus grimaced. “You’d hardly be _brainless_ , but…” he trailed off for a moment. “Yes. You’d become more powerful and could access the Shard’s powers more fully, but the longer you stay in that state, the less likely it is that you’ll be able to come back from it.”

“No.” Gakushuu stated, shaking his head in denial. “No fucking _way_ am I doing that! What the fuck?” In the distance he could hear sounds of the creature getting closer once more, it’s footsteps far too loud to be ignored.

“I agree.” Vexus said, his voice grim. “Surely there must be some other option? I’m positive we can think of something else-” he broke off from what he was saying, eyes widening in alarm. “Kid!?”

Gakushuu felt… _strange._

It felt like his mind and thoughts were suddenly… becoming weirdly hazy. Like everything was drifting far away from him.

Or maybe _he_ was the one drifting away?

Why… did Vexus look so concerned?

Everything was so _bright._ Had the world always been this bright? ...Oh… that was his hand. 

His hand was glowing like his body was made from pure white _light._

When he blinked again, Vexus was gone. He distantly wondered where he went, but…

It felt like there was something _new_ in his mind now. 

Something that was getting bigger.

—

Karma watched the principal with narrowed eyes. The man had continued on with the plan that had brought him here, but Karma got the feeling that he wasn’t putting as much effort into it as he would have liked. 

It seemed that his confrontation with his son had managed to shake something inside of him. 

Karma was darkly considering getting a piece of plywood and _beating the other with it until whatever was shaken inside of him came completely loose._

That thought was interrupted, however, by a small flying projectile nearly colliding into him. 

“Vexus?” he asked, recognizing the other when he got a better look at him. “Where’s-?”

“You have to come right now!” Vexus said frantically. “Gakushuu’s in trouble!”

Immediately alert, Karma straightened up. “Why, what’s going on!?” he demanded.

With both of their attention drawn away, neither of them noticed the principal stopping what he was doing and listening in.

“The Shard is overtaking him! It’s controlling his mind so he can defeat this starless, but he might not be able to return to his normal self after!” Vexus’s stars were flashing in and out quickly, clearly nervous and on the edge over the safety of his Chosen.

“What the fuck, why!?” Karma demanded, fists clenched angrily at his sides. 

“The Shard thought that that was the only option. I tried to talk sense into it, but I don’t think it worked.” Vexus glanced back towards the woods nervously. “We need to go help him somehow.”

“I will be joining you as well.” 

Vexus and Karma both snapped their gazes over at that, looking at the principal who was now standing much closer than he had been before. 

_“You?”_ Karma demanded, partially out of disbelief and partially out of anger. “Why the _hell_ would you want to go?”

The principal narrowed his eyes at the teen. “He _is_ still my son.”

“Oh,” Karma began, glaring up at the man, “you mean the one you just _smacked across the room like a fly?”_

The man’s jaw tightened at that. He opened his mouth to respond, only to be stopped by a frustrated shout from Vexus. 

“We don’t have time for this!” he yelled, glaring at the both of them. “Argue later if you want but right now we need to go _help him!”_ With that, he turned and flew back towards the woods, going _just_ slowly enough to be followed.

Karma and Gakuhou ran after him, neither wanting to get left behind.

“So, uh…” Yoshida began to the now silent classroom, “what... are we supposed to do now?”

A piece of wood fell off the building from where the bulldozer hit, colliding with a dull thud against the ground.

…

Eyes wide as they got closer to the starless, both of them stopped in their tracks when they saw how truly _colossal_ it was. 

“Oh what the fuck.” Karma muttered. 

The principal didn’t bother to correct his language as he secretly agreed with him. That was… no living thing should ever be that big. 

What the _fuck._

Karma whirled around to face Vexus. “Okay, so where is he?” he asked, trying his best to keep his worry down.

Vexus was staring up at the very top of the creature with wide eyes. “There!” he called. “On its left shoulder!” 

They both looked up at that, eyes straining to see him. There on the creature’s shoulder, stood a being of pure white light holding a large glowing sword.

“So why the hell does he look like a nightlight now?” Karma asked, squinting to try and get a better look, despite the distance. 

“That’s because he’s gone voidless.” Vexus answered grimly. “Just like becoming starless takes all color and light away from you, becoming voidless takes all color and darkness away. It gives you a boost of power to be sure, but…” he trailed off as he stared up at his Chosen. “It isn’t truly _living._ The true color of life exists somewhere between the black and the white of chaos and order.”

Karma and the principal both stayed silent at that, absorbing what they heard while doing their best to get a better view of Gakushuu. 

All of their eyes widened a moment later however, when they saw Gakushuu raise the sword, a brighter light than normal seeming to come out of it. He spun the sword in his grasp and whipped it to the side, plunging it _deep_ into the creature’s neck. 

The monster let out a terrible shriek as it swatted at its neck, only to be stabbed in the hand with the sword when it tried. 

Waving its arm around, it failed to notice that Gakushuu had scaled down from its shoulder to its chest, clutching the sword carefully. 

Hanging on with only one hand and his feet, Gakushuu stabbed the sword forward, blade going directly into the creature’s heart.

With one last screech of pain, it fell forward, collapsing to the ground and crushing several trees under it. Gakushuu floated down to the ground silently, not needing to call out the commands in this state. 

He extended one arm and the starless began to glow white before fracturing into multiple pieces, vanishing into the air. 

“Gakushuu!” 

The glowing boy turned around at the shout, observing the three as they moved closer to him. 

“You have to fight the Shard’s influence, kid!” It was Vexus who spoke this time, concern in his silver gaze. 

“Why would I do that?” Gakushuu asked tonelessly. “I’m able to fulfill my purpose better this way.”

Karma scowled at that. “That’s the Shard talking! The only purpose _you_ seem to have so far is studying more than anyone else should _physically be able to,_ and drinking enough coffee to kill _several_ elephants.” He crossed his arms, unsure about how to get through to the other. “Don’t let that thing boss you around. You’re better than that.”

“I must stay in this state. It’s the only way to bring order back to the world.” He tilted his head at them blankly as he continued, “I am needed out there, to find and control the rampaging chaos.”

“You’re needed _here.”_ the principal said, finally speaking up. 

Something in Gakushuu’s face seemed to… _twitch_ at that. “No,” he said, a bit more forcefully, “I’m _not.”_

Low enough so that only the two beside him could hear it, Vexus quietly hissed, _“Part of becoming voidless is that you become distant from the things tying you to this world. If you can remind him of his ties here, you might just be able to snap him out of it!”_

“You _are.”_ the man said, taking a small step towards his son. 

Gakushuu shook his head at that. “No… you… you made it… clear that I…” His brows furrowed, seeming almost like he was trying to clear his mind of something.

The principal took another small step forward. “You are needed here, Gakushuu.”

Gakushuu took a step back. _“No!”_ he denied, glaring now. “You don’t… you can’t just call me by my… by my first name. Not… not after this long.” He blinked his eyes as he spoke haltingly, trying to focus on the present. “I’m…”

“You shouldn’t let this…” the principal gestured vaguely to the Shard, still out of the loop on what it actually _was._ “You shouldn’t let it turn you into its puppet. You’re stronger than that.”

Gakushuu’s fists clenched at that, blinking rapidly. “I shouldn’t…?” He glared up then, the solid glowing white of his eyes unnerving the man on some level he wouldn’t admit. “I shouldn’t become a _puppet?_ How… how _dare_ you!?” He took a step forward, eyes blazing with something beyond the glowing light. “How dare you tell me I shouldn’t be a puppet when that’s _all I’ve fucking been to you for the last eleven years!”_

Gakuhou’s mouth tightened as he stared his son down.

Karma and Vexus both backed away at that, sensing that this was something that _needed_ to happen to bring Gakushuu back fully. It was the most he had reacted to anything so far, after all.

“You’re not just a puppet to me.” Gakuhou finally said, something almost like sadness entering his tone. “And I… regret leading you to believe that you were.”

“You _regret_ it?” Gakushuu asked angrily. _Incredulously._ “Well it’s a little late for that, isn’t it!?” Then, much to the surprise of everyone there, pitch black tears began to well up in his eyes. “You’re… you’re not even…” he broke off, shaking his head. “Even after all of this… you won’t even apologize properly to me…? I don’t… I don’t know why I’m even surprised...”

Gakuhou’s eyes softened at that. His son was here and _crying_ because of him. His son… needed him. “I’m… I’m _sorry,_ Gakushuu. I see now that… what I thought was true strength was just an illusion. _Nothing_ could be worth it if it hurts you like this.”

More tears began to well up. “You should have realized that sooner.” Gakushuu said, glaring coldly through the tears. “I’ve… I’ve put up with so much from you over the years! I’ve worked my mind and body to and _past_ the point of exhaustion trying to please you and it’s _never been enough!”_ He swallowed thickly as more tears welled up, spilling down his face and leaving inky trails behind them. _“...I’ve_ never been enough for you.”

Gakuhou stepped forward again at that. Remorse filling his chest and voice as he spoke, “You _are-”_

_“I’m not!”_ Gakushuu interrupted, tears flowing freely down his face as he glared up at his father. “I’m the son you _had_ , but I’m not the son you _wanted.”_

_“Gakushuu!”_ the man said, feeling _something_ snap in his chest. “You’ve _always_ been enough for me! I’m…” Tears began to well up in his _own_ eyes, overwhelmed by all of the emotions he had been shoving down for years coming up at once. “I’m so, _so_ sorry that I’ve ever made you think that you weren’t enough for me. I just… I didn’t want what happened to Ikeda to ever happen to _you_. You were… you were my _son._ And I love you, I love you so much that it _hurt_ when I thought about something like that happening with _you_. So I did my best to raise you to be strong enough to handle _anything_. ...Even _me.”_

Gakushuu choked on a sob, cheeks completely streaked with void-black tears. 

_“It’s working!”_ Vexus whispered quietly to Karma as he landed on his shoulder. It seemed like the more tears he cried, the dimmer the glow became and the more his colors began to slowly return.

“I’ve considered it before, you know?” Gakushuu said, taking in the pained sound that left his father at that. He supposed that was a good sign. Some part of him had always wondered if the man would even _care_ if he... “If I were anyone else, anyone even _just_ a bit weaker _I would have._ I would have found some way out, even if that way out was from the _top of the school building.”_ He glared fiercely up at the man who wasn’t even trying to hold back his own tears. “The only reason I haven’t was because I was so driven with the desire to prove you wrong! And it finally happened! But you know what?” he demanded, voice thick with emotion. “It still didn’t make me happy! I thought it would but it _didn’t! I still feel exactly as awful as I always have!”_

“Gakushuu,” the man began desperately, only to be cut off.

“You made me _miserable!_ You put me through hell _every day_ and then told me I _still_ wasn’t doing enough! How dare you come here like this and apologize after putting me through so much! I want to hate you!” he yelled, rubbing angrily at his eyes. “I _should_ hate you! You’ve been… you’ve been so _awful_ to me for so long! Hell, you never even _spoke_ to me unless it was to _teach_ me something! So why…” his eyes scrunched up with the force of his tears as he collapsed to his knees. “Why can’t I hate you? It’s not _fair. I should get to hate you after this.”_

Gakuhou fell to his own knees and pulled his son into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around him and pulling him close like he’d wanted to for _so_ long. He had pushed the desire down for _years._ It felt good to finally give up and just hold his son close. 

“You’ve been my teacher for so _long.”_ Gakushuu wetly said into his father’s chest as he wrapped his own arms around the man. “But I missed my _dad._ How… how _dare_ you make me miss you while we lived in the same _house.”_

Gakuhou ran a hand over his son’s hair, feeling what was left of his heart breaking painfully at that. “I’m so _sorry_ , Gakushuu. I’ve been... awful and terrible. I haven’t even been a _father_ at all, but..” He steeled his resolve. “But I’m here _now._ I can’t change what I’ve done, but I can try and do better in the future... if you’ll let me, that is.”

There was a small beat of silence.

“There’s a kid I’ve been tutoring in my free time.” Gakushuu said softly, seemingly out of nowhere. “He’s… really bright and I enjoy teaching him. He’s always excited to learn something new or to talk about something interesting he read, but…” 

Gakushuu’s eyes welled up with tears once more. This time, however, they were completely clear. Without either of them realizing it, he had returned back to normal. “But I’ve been so _afraid_ to let myself care about him! Because… because what if something happened to him and I _snapped like you did?_ And it’s so… it’s so _stupid_ but I just can’t shake the feeling, and-”

“It’s _not_ stupid, Gakushuu.” the man said, pulling his son closer. “I know I can’t apologize enough, but I can _try. I’m so sorry,_ Gakushuu. I’m sorry that I’ve made you angry and afraid. I’m sorry I’ve taken joy away from places you should have been able to find it and replaced it with fear and distrust, I…” He rubbed at his eyes, feeling oddly exhausted from all of the emotions. “Gakushuu, I’m sorry. I love you so _much._ I’m so _so_ proud of you, and how well you’ve handled this. And I am so _horrifically sorry.”_

Gakushuu buried his face deeper into his father’s chest so he wouldn’t see how hard he was crying. He didn’t think his father would _ever_ apologize. And now… 

Well, everything else could wait. 

Once his sobs finally calmed back down to a manageable level, he glanced up at his father. “By the way,” he said, a bit wryly, “now that I’m more sure you won’t do something... _unpleasant_ to me for saying this, I just want to point out that, if he were still alive and somehow at this school, Ikeda would have absolutely been in E Class.”

Gakuhou grimaced at that. “Yes,” he admitted with a small sigh, “I’m aware of that. I think I was just… trying not to think about it too hard. I believe I was in denial about quite a few things, honestly.” He glanced down at his son then, and saw him staring up at him searchingly. 

_Ah,_ he realized, _he may have meant that, but it was still a test to see how I’d react._

_I suppose I deserve that._

He began running his fingers through the boy’s hair once more, watching his eyes begin to droop a little and some of the tension leave his frame. It was good to know that the trick he used in the past to calm his son down enough for a nap still worked. 

Gakushuu let the treatment continue for a bit longer before pulling back, knowing he’d need a clear head for what he was about to say. “I’m not forgiving you yet.” he said warningly. “I don’t know if I’ll ever _fully_ forgive you, but... I still want to try if you do.” At his father’s agreeing nod, he continued, “Things need to change. No more forcing me into competitions or practices, no more making me study until I _pass out,”_ he watched as the man winced a bit at that memory, “just… just be my _dad_ again. That’s all I want.” He looked up at him with a pleading but guarded look in his eyes as he continued, “But I need to know now if you can do that, so I don’t get my hopes up if you can’t.”

Gakuhou nodded, grateful at least that his son didn’t hate him, and was willing to give him another chance to fix his mistakes. “I can’t promise that I’ll never slip up, but I _do_ promise to do my best, and to listen to you from now on. If at _any_ point you don’t like how I’m dealing with something in regards to you, I promise that I won’t get angry at you for telling me, and that I’ll sit down with you and talk it out until both of us are satisfied. Is this satisfactory?”

Wiping furiously at his eyes to prevent even _more_ tears from leaking out (he was going to get dehydrated at this point, he _swore)_ he smiled up at his father with a _real_ smile for the first time in what must have been eleven years. “Yes, I believe it is. Just be warned however, that if I feel it to be necessary, I won’t hesitate to move out again. And I might not come back if it needs to happen a second time.”

Gakuhou nodded. “I believe those sound like fair conditions.” Leaning forward, he planted a small kiss on his son’s forehead, causing the teen to immediately turn red. 

_“Dad!”_ he snapped in a tone he hadn’t used in _years_ , putting his hand on his forehead as he scowled up at the man. “Don’t _do_ that when there are people around!”

Gakuhou raised an eyebrow, amused. “I hardly think that _now_ is the time to be embarrassed about displaying affection.” he said, gesturing vaguely to the fact that both of their faces were wet and they were still, in fact, hugging. 

Gakushuu only scowled harder, subconsciously rubbing at his forehead like he was getting rid of germs. “So how did your assassination attempt on Koro-sensei go?” he asked curiously after dropping his hand. 

His father shrugged. “I’m not sure. I heard that you were in trouble so I dropped it and came here.”

Gakushuu blinked up at him at that, eyes wide. “...Oh.” he said, not knowing what else to say. 

Gakuhou smiled down at his son. “If you don’t mind, could you come home tonight? You can go get your stuff from wherever you’ve been tomorrow, but… I think we have a lot to discuss tonight and I want to spend some time with my son.”

Pausing to think it over, Gakushuu eventually nodded. “Alright, that sounds acceptable. You go home first though, and I’ll meet you there. I… need a little time first.”

Nodding in acceptance, Gakuhou slowly let go of his son and stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants. “Very well. When you get home however, I’ll also have a lot of questions for you about…” he gestured to the Shard and then to Vexus. Then, narrowing his eyes at the Shard, he asked, “Also, should you really be wearing that after what it did?”

Gakushuu lifted a hand and gently touched the Shard that was glowing faintly at his neck. “It’s fine.” he said, shaking his head slowly. “When it was controlling me, I saw glimpses into _it_ as well. It took me over because it was scared and didn’t know what else to do. I’m going to have to talk to it about that later but…” he smiled up wryly at his father, “if I can forgive _you_ for hurting me out of fear, then I can forgive the Shard as well.”

Gakuhou grimaced at that before shaking his head. Leaning down, he ruffled his son’s hair, earning an annoyed yelp in the process. “You’ve always been so much _kinder_ than you’ve realized, Gakushuu. I don’t deserve a son as wonderful as you.”

Gakushuu blushed darkly at that, turning his face away from his father to hide how much those words meant to him. “Just go back home already. You’re wasting time, and I demand ice cream as a proper bribe in returning home.”

Chuckling fondly at that, Gakuhou nodded and stood once more. “Alright, I’ll see you when you get home, then.” With that, the man was off, walking in the direction of the main campus.

Gakushuu collapsed backwards onto the ground, completely _exhausted_ by the events of the day. 

“Sooo,” Karma began as he walked over, “I take it you’re moving out?”

“That seems to be the case.” Gakushuu said, staring up at the sky. Glancing over at the other, he continued, “but if you want me to, I wouldn’t mind spending the night still occasionally.”

Karma smirked at that, internally just happy that the other wasn’t dropping him after he wasn’t directly useful anymore. Not that he thought he _would,_ but a little reassurance was always nice. “That was quite a scene just now.” he said, sitting down beside the other.

Gakushuu groaned. “You’re not allowed to tease me for any of that.” he said, holding still so Vexus could get comfortable nuzzling into his chest, happy his Chosen was alive and well. 

Holding his hands up, Karma laughed lightheartedly. “I won’t, I won’t, don’t worry. I’m just… glad that things seemed to go well, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Gakushuu replied faintly, “it almost doesn’t even feel real, honestly. I guess it'll take some getting used to.”

After a few more moments of just enjoying the silence together, Karma looked down and nudged the other with the top of his shoe. “I’m glad you’re okay.” he said, feeling a little nervous about admitting that so boldly.

But personally, Karma thinks that the shy smile he got in return made that little bit of emotional honesty _more_ than worth it. 

With nothing else to do, he smiled back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CATHARSIS


	25. Chapter 25

“So how’ve things been going with your dad?”

Gakushuu looked up from his lunch to the redhead sitting across from him. Due to the strange lack of starless for the day, they both got to enjoy their lunch break in peace without needing to run off to fight. It was so refreshing that Gakushuu thought he might actually just tear up a little. Maybe if this continued, he could study for an entire day again without being interrupted?

He had strangely missed that.

“It’s going as well as it can, I suppose.” he replied. “It’s a bit… strange, honestly. It’s like we’re both walking on eggshells around each other now. But…” he trailed off for a moment as he stared down at his food, “I finally feel like I can really _breathe_ around him for the first time in years.”

The man had apologized more than once since Gakushuu had moved back in, which was both weird to him and also… strangely reassuring. If the other hadn’t changed his mind about his regret so far, then that was a good sign, right?

He wished he could trust the situation faster, but the many years spent wary of his father’s intentions wouldn’t disappear overnight. He _seemed_ sincere, so Gakushuu supposed that all he could do for now was give him the benefit of the doubt. 

It was still strange, though.

“Makes sense, I guess.” Karma said, taking a small bite of his lunch. “You can always come back to my house if you need to, though.”

The side of Gakushuu’s mouth twitched up a bit at that. “Thanks.” he said gratefully. “I might just take you up on that this weekend. I think transitioning back to living at home will go easier if I don’t do it all at once.” Having somewhere he could go if he needed some breathing room sounded pleasant.

Karma grinned. “Sounds fun. I can get my video games out and kick your ass in all of them.” He certainly wasn’t going to admit it, but he had... sort of _missed_ having the other in his house. This would be a good way to hang out again. Plus, competitions against Gakushuu were always fun.

Raising an eyebrow, Gakushuu responded with a challenging, “Well you can certainly _try.”_ A smile was threatening to break out over his face. “But I can assure you that it won’t be very likely.”

Karma grinned wider and opened his mouth to respond when they heard a loud crash from the direction of the classroom. 

Heads snapping in the direction of the noise, Karma was the first to turn back around and ask unsurely, “A starless…?”

Gakushuu shook his head. “No, Vexus would have woken up from his nap in the Shard if that was the case.” Quickly eating his last bite of food, he jumped to his feet. “Let’s go check it out.” 

Nodding, Karma quickly got to his feet as well and followed him out of the forest and back towards the classroom. What the hell could have made noise like that? It sounded like wood being smashed.

As they approached the scene, they were greeted by the sight of Kayano with her hair down and-

Okay, so those were? Tentacles???

_Why the hell did Kayano have tentacles?????_

Before either of them could ask what the _hell_ was going on, however, the girl used her tentacles to get away by flinging herself into the woods and vanishing behind the trees. 

There was a beat of silence. 

Gakushuu looked at the gathered crowd of students and Koro-sensei. “So…” he began.

“What the _hell_ is going on???”

…

After the two of them had been filled in on what happened while they were gone, they sat in their desks while everyone tried to figure out what to do. 

Rio and Nagisa had pulled desks over to them to form a small cluster of desks so that they could speak easier. Rio slumped forward and rested her chin on her hand with a frown. 

“It’s so wild that this happened, though.” she said, eyebrows furrowed. “This is really out of character for her, don’t you guys think?”

After getting nods of agreement from Karma and Nagisa, she turned expecting eyes over to Gakushuu, as though waiting for his answer.

Gakushuu only raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ve… literally never spoken to her, so.”

Rio blinked at that before tilting her head a bit. “Oh, I guess not.” She frowned at him then, with mischief glimmering in her eyes. “You should talk to us more!” she declared, pointing at him accusingly. “It’s important to interact with your classmates!”

“Well,” Gakushuu began, voice dryer than a desert in the middle of a drought, “I would, but one of you just went crazy and sprouted tentacles, so I think it’d be better not to.”

“Wh-” Rio sputtered, having not expected that. “That was only one time!”

Gakushuu’s eyebrow went up further as he jabbed his thumb in Itona’s direction. Karma and Nagisa has filled him in on _that_ whole debacle pretty early on. 

Rio crossed her arms. “...You weren’t even _here_ for that one.” she grumbled. In all honesty, she was having fun bantering with the school’s former golden boy like this. They had had a few conversations here and there since he had revealed the secrets he had been keeping, and Rio had been the one to drag him into all of them, though she suspected he enjoyed their chats more than he’d admit.

It was nice to talk to him now that he was just a normal classmate. He felt more like an actual _person_ instead of just a title. 

She glanced between him and Karma, watching as they talked quietly about something, unconsciously leaning closer to each other. It was good that Karma had someone to ground him and also challenge him at the same time. He seemed a lot more… _calm_ recently. 

If these two idiots didn’t figure themselves out soon though, she was going to step in and _shove their faces together_ if need be.

She glanced over at Nagisa and got an amused look in return, the other already knowing what she was thinking about.

They looked back up when it seemed like the class had come to a decision about what to do. 

Planning time, then.

—

Gakushuu stood with the rest of the class in the field as they listened to Koro-sensei’s story. 

So, it seemed as though their teacher was the world’s top assassin turned test subject. Who was then…

Turned into a giant yellow octopus monster.

Okay, sure. _Why not?_

Gakushuu was pretty sure that, after the last few months he’d had, _nothing_ could shock him anymore. 

Honestly Koro-sensei was already weird, but finding out that he used to be an assassin somehow just made sense. It explained quite a few things about the man in all honesty. Gakushuu never gave undeserved praise, and even _he_ would boldly state that not only was Koro-sensei competent at his job, he was likely the best teacher that Gakushuu had ever _had._

(Not that he would state that _in front_ of him, though. He had no desire to be _cried_ on, thank you very much.)

While everyone was heading home, Karma and Gakushuu sat in the field, neither wanting to leave just yet. 

Looking over at the red head, Gakushuu noticed that the other seemed to be thinking uncharacteristically hard about something. He had a feeling he knew what was causing it. They _had_ just had a lot dumped on them all at once, after all.

Knowing exactly what to do to distract the other, Gakushuu raised his phone up a bit as he asked, “So, I’m guessing you got some good pictures as well?”

Karma blinked for a moment in confusion before grinning and pulling out his own phone. “So you snagged some pics of that kiss too?”

“Of course.” Gakushuu said with a small smirk. “I was raised to never pass up an opportunity to get good blackmail, after all.”

Karma chuckled at that, amused as ever by the other’s cutthroat nature. “How cruel of you~” he cooed. 

“Didn’t you _also_ get photos?” Gakushuu asked wryly as he leaned back, supporting his weight on his hands. 

“Yep!” Karma answered shamelessly with a bright smile. “I added it to my photo album of blackmail on him.”

A grin tugged at the corners of Gakushuu’s mouth at that. “You have an entire _album_ of blackmail photos on him?” He was hardly _surprised,_ but still. He was almost starting to feel bad for Nagisa.

Leaning closer so they could both clearly see his phone screen, Karma cheerily opened the folder in question. “Sure do! Here, look at this one.”

Looking at the one Karma was pointing at, Gakushuu had to stifle a laugh. “If you send me some of these I’ll send you some I have on Seo.” he bargained, knowing the other was likely to take him up on it. 

And sure enough, Karma’s eyes were nearly _sparkling_ as he agreed, excited to get his hands on more blackmail.

_Sadist,_ Gakushuu thought fondly as he gazed at the other. “So,” he began with a small smile, “got any blackmail on anyone else?”

Karma scoffed as he opened an entirely new file. “Who do you think I am? Of _course_ I have blackmail on more people.” His grin turned even more mischievous as he continued, “The better question would be who _don’t_ I have some on? Here, look at this photo I got last week of Terasaka.”

Gakushuu scooted a bit closer to the other so he could get a better view of the screen, squishing their shoulders together in the process as they compared photos.

They spent the next few hours that way, sharing blackmail while they sat, subconsciously leaning farther and farther into each other. 

It was nice.

—

Gakushuu decided to opt out of the civil war on the grounds that he was still new-ish to the class and therefore didn’t have an opinion. 

In reality, however, he _did_ have an opinion on the matter. 

At his core, Gakushuu was aware that he was selfish by nature. Some part of him had always clung desperately to anything truly _good_ in his life that he could find, few though they were. 

And, despite the threat he posed, Gakushuu found that he didn’t want to lose the first authority figure in his life that had truly tried to help and guide him the way a real teacher should. The one who had seen Gakushuu spiraling downwards and, instead of blaming him for the things happening to him, had just gently advised him on how to improve the situation with what he had. 

Being _seen_ by an adult instead of looked down on by them for something he couldn’t control…

No, Gakushuu knew that he didn’t want to lose Koro-sensei.

(Though, if the blue team won and still failed, and it was getting close to the deadline, Gakushuu wouldn’t hesitate to plunge the knife into his teacher’s heart _himself_ if need be. 

He liked the man, but dying in an explosion sounded unpleasant at best and he wanted No Part Of That, thank you very much.)

The _real_ reason that he stayed out of the paintball war, however, was the unresolved tension he could see between Karma and Nagisa now. 

If Gakushuu joined Karma’s team, then Nagisa wouldn’t stand any chance against the both of them, and if he joined Nagisa’s team the fight would just end up being between himself and Karma, which wouldn’t help the main underlying problem between the other two at all. He wasn't _entirely_ sure what their problem was, but they needed to work that shit out.

So instead he opted out of the fight and stayed perfectly neutral on the matter when asked about it. He was pretty sure that Koro-sensei was aware of his reasons, however. The teacher had chuckled when Gakushuu had stated that he wouldn’t be taking part and wordlessly ruffled his hair when they all stood off to the side waiting for the match to begin.

He got the feeling that Koro-sensei was proud of him, but he wasn’t really sure _why_ this time.

Oh well, it looked like the paintball war was about to start.

—

Space?? These idiots were going?? To _space????_

No one in this goddamn room possessed a single functioning brain cell, did they?

The last few months had been absolute _hell_ on his blood pressure, and this was _nowhere_ in the vicinity of helping. Did these idiots not know how dangerous this was? That they had a pretty high chance of just straight up _dying?_

That was it, he officially washed his hands of this nonsense. 

Getting up while everyone was excitedly chattering amongst themselves about the space trip, Gakushuu stalked up to the front of the room and grabbed Koro-sensei’s tie, dragging the surprised teacher down. 

“Listen, I’m staying out of all of this because I want no part of this foolishness. _But,”_ he said, glaring sharply up at the other, “if either one of them gets injured or _worse_ from this, I will find a way to torture you instead of just killing you quickly and it _will_ be painful. Do I make myself clear?”

Koro-sensei began to look uncomfortable at the idea of his students being seriously harmed, especially considering that it would be his own fault if they were. “Asano-kun, I assure you that-”

_“Do I make myself clear?”_ Gakushuu hissed, violet eyes glinting dangerously. 

Koro-sensei yelped and flailed his tentacles around. “Yes! Very clear!”

Gakushuu released his tie then. “Good.” he said before pinching the bridge of his nose to help ease the oncoming headache. 

“I’ll make sure that they stay safe, Asano-kun.” Koro-sensei said as he placed a tentacle on his chest, having calmed down a bit. “You have my word.”

Gakushuu smiled thinly. “Let’s hope that holds up then.” Turning on his heel, he departed with a halfhearted wave and a brief, “I refuse to take part in something _this_ stupid, so I’m going home. Have fun I suppose.”

As the door shut behind him, he shook his head at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. He wasn’t _surprised_ , but he wished he could say he was. 

If only he hadn’t grown so fond of these idiots. It’d be a lot easier to just not worry about their safety when they pulled shit like this. 

Either way, he was going straight home to take a nap. 

He deserved one.


	26. Chapter 26

“Thanks for letting me use your kitchen.”

Ren smiled at his friend who was walking in with a few bags of ingredients, an embarrassed scowl already on his face. “No problem, dude!” he said, closing the door behind the other. “Besides, you know you’re always welcome here.”

Gakushuu’s mouth twitched up slightly at that, not answering as he made his way to the kitchen and set the bags down onto the counter. He was thankful that he already knew where everything was in here, having been over so many times before. 

Ren leaned against the counter as he watched the other begin to unpack the bags he brought. “So,” he began, “you’re making chocolates for your class this year? Should I be offended? Y’know, considering you’ve never made them for A-Class before, and all?” There was an undercurrent of amusement in his voice, obviously not _actually_ bothered by the situation.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes at that. “The only reason I’m making some for the entire class is to thank them for their continued silence in the matters regarding the Shard. It has nothing to do with anything other than that.”

“Uh huh.” Ren said, eyeing him critically. He knew Gakushuu, and there was _no_ way that was the only reason.

Frowning lightly at the other’s disbelieving tone, Gakushuu set the bowl he was holding down. _“So,”_ he said, forcefully changing the subject, “you said you’d help me make these?” He asked Ren not just because he needed a second pair of hands to make this go faster, but also because Ren had more experience than anyone else he knew with making chocolates. Of course those were normally for pretty girls, but still. 

Huffing a quiet laugh, Ren walked over to the sink and quickly began to wash his hands, causing Gakushuu to remember to do the same. “Yeah yeah.” he said lightly. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” As he surveyed the ingredients the other brought he idly asked, “So are you making any chocolates for me too?”

Gakushuu pushed his sleeves up and rolled his eyes. “You already know that you’re going to be drowning in chocolates tomorrow. You _physically_ can’t even eat the amount you’re already going to get.”

Ren grinned and playfully put his hand to his chest. “But the things you make always taste so much _better_ than what most of the lovely ladies at the main campus could make.”

Gakushuu sighed as he pulled a spatula out. “Fine, you can have any of the extras we end up with by the end of this. Fair?”

Smiling, Ren only shrugged. “Yeah, sounds good.” Then pausing for a moment as he thought about something, he looked over at the other carefully. “So… has E-Class been treating you well so far?” He had admittedly been worrying about his friend since he had been sent there, despite knowing the other was fully capable of taking care of himself. 

“Well,” Gakushuu began slowly, “things were… a _little_ rocky at first, but honestly... I can’t say they’ve been too objectionable overall.”

Ren gave a relieved smile at that. That was about as high of a compliment that Gakushuu would be willing to give almost _anyone_. It was _also_ probably the real reason he was making chocolates for all of them. He must have managed to grow fond of them at some point. 

“So,” Ren said, looking at one of the containers in front of him, “what are all the strawberries for?”

Gakushuu froze for only a moment, just a split second of stillness that someone less familiar with him would have never noticed.

Ren _immediately_ zeroed in on it. 

“I’m going to make a few things with strawberries.” Gakushuu said, his tone far too casual.

“Oh?” Ren questioned lightly, keeping his eyes subtly trained on the other’s reactions. “For who?”

A moment of silence passed before Gakushuu finally answered, “...I’m making that batch for Karma.”

Ren’s eyebrow slowly climbed up at that. “So it’s ‘Karma’ now instead of ‘Akabane’?”

Gakushuu was very carefully Not Looking At Him. “Well he helps me fight the starless, so we’ve gotten to first-name basis rather quickly because of it.” He busied himself with measuring out ingredients as he continued, “I’m just making him a personalized batch to properly thank him for his assistance and for allowing me to live with him until recently.”

Ren nearly choked on air. “You were _living with him!?”_

Gakushuu frowned and glanced up at him. “I’ve already explained the situation to you.”

_“I think you might have left a few things out!!”_ Ren shot back, visibly shocked. That was so _wildly_ out of character for the Gakushuu he knew, holy _shit._

Beginning to turn slightly red, Gakushuu retorted, “Listen, I don’t see what the big deal is. I was living with him to get away from my father, and I’m just being polite by making these for him, nothing else.”

“Oh?” Ren asked, his other eyebrow climbing up his forehead to join the first. “So there’s _no_ other reason you might possibly be putting so much effort into a gift like this for him? For _Valentine’s Day?”_ he asked, emphasizing the importance of the holiday to him. “Are you _completely_ sure?”

Gakushuu stared at the wall in front of him at that, motionless as he seemed to think things over. 

Ren watched as red began to creep up the others neck.

Then face.

Right when it reached the tips of his ears, Gakushuu buried his face into his hands. “Oh no.” he muttered quietly. “Oh fuck, _why?”_

Ren was _delighted._

_“You like him!!!”_ he half-shrieked, grinning widely. “I know my birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but it feels like it’s today now!” He clapped his hands together happily. “Holy shit, you _finally_ like someone! I never thought this would happen!!”

Gakushuu just groaned long and low into his hands, seeming to go through every stage of grief at once.

Ren did _not_ squeal at the new information. He didn’t. He just… made a slightly higher pitched noise out of happiness, that was all. 

But _Gakushuu_ actually _liked_ someone!!! This was _groundbreaking!_

“Okay, you have to tell me _everything.”_ he said, grinning widely. “What do you like about him?”

Gakushuu made a noise not unlike that of a dying animal at that, burying his face farther into his hands. 

Ren nodded seriously as though that answer made perfect sense. “Ah, I see. Maybe I should start with an easier question then.” A devious smile replaced his normal one as he asked lightly, “Have you considered _kissing_ him yet?”

Gakushuu pulled one hand away from his face only long enough to grab the spatula in front of him and pitch it directly at the other’s grinning face. 

Ren ducked right as it sailed over his head, laughing so hard that he had to stop for a moment and bend over slightly to catch his breath, still giggling occasionally as he did so. 

Finally pulling his hands away from his face, Gakushuu scowled at his friend. “I hate you.” he grumbled.

“You do not.” Ren returned confidently, pausing to pick up the spatula that the other threw. “But I’ll stop teasing you for now.”

_Well I guess that’s all I can ask for right now, isn’t it?_ He thought sarcastically, still trying to come to terms with the fact that he apparently _liked Karma._

What the _fuck._

They worked together silently for a while, both lost in their own thoughts as they measured and mixed ingredients. 

Attempting to take his mind off of his current issue, Gakushuu looked around the room for something else to think about. Tilting his head a bit as something occurred to him, he turned around to look at the other. 

“Where are your parents?” he asked. Had Ren asked them to go somewhere else for the day, or were they at work again?

Ren blinked for a second before his face shifted into an easygoing smile. “Oh, they’re on a short business trip right now.” He waved his hand vaguely as he glanced over at the corner of the room for a split second before looking back. “They were actually home recently! It was pretty eventful this time, honestly.”

Gakushuu followed the direction Ren had glanced towards with his own eyes. He squinted at the wall there, seeing something slightly off. 

Was that… a dent?

Before he could think farther on that however, Ren clapped his hands together once to get his attention, startling the other out of his train of thought. 

“So,” Ren said, “you’ve told me a bit over text, but could you fill me in more on the whole starless thing? And also,” he looked around as though that would somehow make the other appear, “where’s Vexus?”

Gakushuu blinked in surprise at that. “Oh, Vexus and the Shard are with Karma today. It was his turn and I didn’t want to be interrupted while I was doing this today.”

Ren nodded. “Well it’s good to know that I don’t need to worry about you being pulled away and getting left with all of the work.”

“Actually,” Gakushuu said with a small frown, “there hasn’t been very many starless appearing at _all_ recently. Not since the really big one I texted you about, anyway.”

“Oh that’s odd.” Ren said, squinting down at the measuring cup he was holding, making sure it was holding the correct amount. “Do you think something’s up?”

Gakushuu sighed. “Yes, our best guess so far is that Thallum has something else up his sleeve now. All we can really do at the moment is wait, however.”

“Ah, that makes sense I guess.” Ren said, licking a bit of chocolate off the corner of his thumb. “So,” he said, “tell me what’s been going on.”

Gakushuu nodded and began to narrate the things that had happened recently, explaining the details more thoroughly this time instead of glossing over them. 

Before he knew it, he was recounting some of the more entertaining things that had happened in the class to his friend, amused at the memories. He was partially through describing the time Karma had somehow obtained a live (though thankfully not _deadly)_ scorpion, and had proceeded to attempt to _shove it down Terasaka’s pants,_ when he noticed that his friend was looking at him with some unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. 

He paused before asking, “...Yes?”, unsure about what could’ve caused that look on the other’s face.

“You’re a lot calmer now.” Ren observed, seemingly out of the blue. “You seem… more at ease, I guess.”

Gakushuu blinked rapidly at that, surprised. “Well,” he began, a bit embarrassed though trying not to show it, “I did manage to finally beat my father, so it likely has something to do with that.”

Ren shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it. I noticed it when I visited you the day of the festival too, after all.” He absently wiped his hands clean with a cloth, looking consideringly down at his friend. “Being in E-Class has been really good for you.”

When Gakushuu only responded with wide eyes and shocked silence, Ren continued softly, “I was really worried when you first got transferred there, you know? Not just because you were acting so weird, though that _was_ pretty unsettling.” he muttered that last part quietly, almost to himself. “But I was more worried that the students there would just mock you nonstop and make an already bad situation worse.”

Unsure about why he felt the need to defend them here, Gakushuu half-blurted out, “But... they didn’t.”

“I know.” Ren assured him. “And honestly, as worried as I was at the beginning… I’m _glad_ you got moved down now.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, something in his eyes looking distinctly _tired_ in a way Gakushuu didn’t think he’d ever seen on the other’s face before. “It’s not just that you’re calmer, honestly. It’s… almost like all the tension you’ve been carrying with you has finally begun to unwind.”

Gakushuu stared intently at the bowl in front of him. “Perhaps… you are correct. I suppose that getting away from everything for a while has helped me… _center_ myself, I guess.” 

Ren nodded before glancing over at the strawberries once more. “So are you going to need help making the chocolates for your boyfriend, or…?”

Gakushuu’s face quickly flushed at that. “Wh- I’m not even dating him yet!”

“‘Yet’,” Ren quoted, smiling mischievously, “so you _do_ plan to date him then- _agh!”_

Gakushuu pulled back his fist from where he punched Ren’s arm, face still bright red. “I don’t know why I’ve tolerated you for this many years.” he muttered, annoyance seeping into his tone. “You’re terrible and I want a redo on friends.”

Ren smiled at that, looking happier than the strawberry blonde thought he had any right to be at that moment. “I missed you, Gakushuu.” he said, seemingly at random.

Gakushuu blinked at that, confusion overtaking his embarrassment. “Missed me? I haven’t been gone from A-Class for _that_ long, Ren.”

Only huffing a quiet laugh in response to that, Ren smiled at Gakushuu. “So,” he said, “what’s the next step in the process again?”

Gakushuu looked down at the paper he printed off then, realizing they had gotten distracted. “Right, so,” he began, “the next step is-” he began to read off the instructions, getting all the odds and ends in order as he did so. 

They busied themselves that way for the next few hours, deftly making top-quality chocolates as they occasionally chatted back and forth about whatever came to mind.

It was... oddly nostalgic.

…

So far the class all seemed pretty pleased with the boxes of chocolates Gakushuu handed out to them. Not that he doubted that they _would_ be, but still. 

Now he just needed to…

His lips tightened and he willed his face not to begin burning again. 

_He just needed to find Karma and give him his gift._

He mentally cursed Ren for making him realize his attraction to the redhead. _Now_ how was he supposed to give it to him without spontaneously _combusting_ on the spot? And also…

Where _was_ Karma, anyway?

Gakushuu clutched the basket in his hand as he continued his search for the other. He wasn’t in the classroom building at all, and didn’t seem to be in the immediate area. He frowned, wondering if the other had just decided to skip for the day. 

Just then, however, there was a _ding_ from his phone. He shifted the basket to his other hand and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Going to his messages, he saw a new one from ‘red haired annoyance’ asking to meet in their normal spot. _Ah,_ he thought, already turning to head in that direction, _so that’s where you went._

Walking through the woods, he made his way towards where the other was waiting for him, doing his best not to either break out into a run there or to run _away_ instead.

He could do this. He just needed to hand him the basket. There didn’t need to be any feelings attached. 

This was fine.

Finally making it to the clearing, he spotted the other sitting on top of one of the large rocks, facing away from him and staring absently up at the sky. 

And now that Gakushuu was aware of the nature of his feelings, he decided to take a moment and really _look_ at the other while he was too distracted to notice he was being watched, curious to see if his perception of him had changed. His eyes trailed from the way the other’s hair glowed an even _brighter_ red under the slowly lowering sun, to the way his brilliant golden eyes flashed with repressed joy when he finally noticed him standing there.

“Hey Gakushuu,” Karma said, turning around farther to face him, “I didn’t hear you showing up, you should have said something.”

Gakushuu smirked, easily falling back into the familiar rhythm of their banter. “Well it’s hardly _my_ fault if you’re inattentive.” 

Karma smiled as the other walked over, pretending to be offended by his words. “Hey, someone who’s currently losing to me in Mario Kart can’t claim to be more attentive than the person with the winning score.”

Frowning as he jumped up onto the rock a bit away from the other, Gakushuu retorted, “That doesn’t even make sense, and also you _cheated.”_

Karma grinned at that, completely unrepentant. “It’s hardly _my_ fault that you couldn’t keep your eyes on the road right at the end.”

“It is when you were the one _shoving a pillow into my face.”_ Gakushuu hissed back, elbowing the other in the side. 

If anything, Karma grinned _wider_ at the assault, looking far too cheery for Gakushuu’s continued sanity. “I guess you’ll just have to come back soon to try and even the score against me then, but at this rate I’m just going to keep winning and making the distance bigger-”

Gakushuu’s eyebrow twitched as he slammed his hand over the other’s mouth. “Why can’t you just ask to hang out like a _normal_ person?” he asked, torn between mild irritation and amusement. 

Pulling the other’s hand away from his mouth, Karma responded brightly, “Well, it’s not like either of us is normal anyway.”

_...Well I suppose that’s true,_ Gakushuu thought, having nothing to really say to that. 

Seeing the look on his face, Karma decided to ask, “So what were you doing yesterday?” he only knew that the other said he would be busy for most of the day. 

Gakushuu shrugged. “I was making chocolates for the class at Ren’s house.”

Karma tilted his head curiously at that. “Why’d you go to his house instead of just using your own?”

“Things between my father and I might be improving,” Gakushuu began dryly, “but the idea of him possibly walking in and seeing me making _Valentine’s chocolates_ of all things…” he trailed off, scrunching his nose up in displeasure at the thought. 

“Yeah,” Karma said with a small laugh, “I can see why that’d probably be uncomfortable.” Looking down at the basket in the other hands, he reached out to try and open the lid as he asked, “Sooo, you said you made chocolates for the class. Where’s mine, then?”

Gakushuu smacked his hand away from the lid. “Control your sweet tooth long enough to have some patience.” he scolded, mostly on autopilot. 

Karma pouted as he picked up the box beside him, holding it up for the other to see. “I can’t believe you’re being so _mean_ to me when I went out of my way to make you chocolates too.”

Gakushuu’s eyes widened in surprise at that. He… hadn’t expected the other to make chocolates for _him_ as well. That was thoughtful of him.

Wordlessly, he offered the basket forward, accepting the box in return when the other passed it to him. 

When Karma opened the basket, his eyes went wide at the contents. 

Gakushuu half-smiled at the reaction, glad the other seemed to like what he was looking at. “There’s a box of chocolate covered strawberries,” he explained, “half of them have been dipped in white chocolate and half have been dipped in milk chocolate.” He pointed to the side of the basket, directing Karma’s attention to the two chilled glass bottles there. “There’s also two bottles of homemade strawberry milk.”

When he saw that the other was now looking at the basket like he was holding the holy grail, Gakushuu continued, “I took your sweet tooth into consideration as well. The strawberries were double dipped in the chocolate and the milk is sweeter than it was supposed to be.”

Karma broke his gaze away from the basket only long enough to gesture at the box and explain what he got him in return. “I infused dark chocolate with coffee and covered sea salt caramel squares that I made with it.” He smirked at him as he pulled the box of strawberries out of the basket. “So it should be bitter enough to appeal to your old man taste buds.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes at that, but had to admit that the description interested him. He opened the lid of the box and was impressed by the uniformity of the squares and the smooth surface of the chocolate. 

He knew that Karma enjoyed both cooking and baking in his free time, but it really became obvious when the quality of his work was seen. Taking one out, he bit it in half, letting the chocolate melt slowly on his tongue. When the coffee flavor hit his taste buds full force, he had to stop himself from asking the other to _marry_ him right there.

He looked up at the other, only to see him in a similar state as he drank some of the strawberry milk, eyes glimmering happily at the flavor. Gakushuu felt a wave of satisfaction at that. And… something else.

Something _softer_.

Attempting to take his mind off of it, he looked up at the other and asked casually, “So, did you have any help making these?” he asked, popping the other half of the chocolate he was holding into his mouth.

Karma paused from his attempted self-drowning by strawberry milk to answer, “Well, I _could_ have made it alone, but I did have some help, yeah.”

“Oh?” Gakushuu asked, curious. “Who?” 

Karma half-scowled at the question before sighing. “Rio dragged Nagisa over to my house. They claimed they were there to help, but they spent most of the time heckling me. Well,” he added thoughtfully, “Rio more than Nagisa, but still. Vexus joined in _too_ after a while.”

Gakushuu was amused by the mental image. It was amusing to imagine Karma being the one teased about something for a change. “So what were they heckling you about, anyway?” he asked.

Karma opened his mouth to answer before shutting it again, shaking his head. “Not important.” he muttered before taking a sullen bite out of a strawberry. 

Blinking in surprise at that response, Gakushuu leaned in a bit, now much more interested in whatever could have made the other react like that. Wait… was he…

Was Karma _blushing?_

Doing his best not to think about how nice the spreading color looked on the other’s face, Gakushuu smiled behind a bite of chocolate. “It’s unusual to see you this out of sorts about something.” he teased.

Karma paused at that, visibly thinking something over. After a few moments he squared his shoulders, having seemingly come to some conclusion. “You’re right.” he said. 

Gakushuu blinked at that. “Well obviously-”

“Go on a date with me.” Karma interrupted, staring at him determinedly. 

_Asfgdsfljjk????_

Gakushuu’s mind blanked fully at that for a few moments, only nonsense sounds filtering through.

_What._

_...What!???_

“I- you-” Gakushuu began, cutting himself off each time he tried to say something. 

“Well yes,” Karma said impishly, “it _would_ involve both of us hopefully.”

Irritation snapping him out of his confused state, Gakushuu smacked the redhead’s arm at that. “Why are you like this?” he muttered. 

Looking more closely at the other however, he could see a faint nervousness running under the other’s calm façade. He wasn’t _nearly_ as confident as he was making himself seem. 

_Ah right,_ Gakushuu thought distantly to himself, still a little in shock, _I need to answer him._

“Also, _yes_ , I’ll go on a date with you.”

Karma grinned almost _shyly_ at the answer. “Good.” he said simply, biting into a strawberry.

“Wait,” Gakushuu began, feeling amusement begin to well up inside of him, “is _that_ what the others were teasing you over?”

Karma scowled, blushing once more. “They said I needed to hurry up and ask you out.” Taking a sip of the milk, he muttered, “It got worse when they found out I was making a special batch of chocolate for you.”

“I can imagine.” Gakushuu replied, feeling a bit of sympathy. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ren was-” he cut himself off, face turning red as he realized what he nearly admitted. 

Unfortunately, Karma immediately caught on. 

_“Oh?”_ he asked, a mischievous grin slowly taking over his face. “You were getting teased too then?” He took the other’s silence as the answer it was and grinned wider. “And I’m guessing it was for similar reasons?”

_“Ugh.”_ Gakushuu said, doing his best to fight his blush back down. 

“You _liked_ me!” Karma exclaimed happily, actual joy audible under the teasing nature of the statement.

“Well,” Gakushuu began dryly, “I _did_ just agree to go out with you, so I’d hope so.” 

Karma waved his hand like that didn’t matter. “I meant you liked me _before_ I asked you out, and you didn’t just agree out of like… curiosity or something.” He had... admittedly been a little worried about that.

“I suppose I’m pleased to hear that you liked me before this as well.” Gakushuu said, closing the box in his lap and saving the rest of the chocolates for later. “I honestly only consciously realized it yesterday, and that was because Ren practically beat me over the head with the information.”

“...Actually,” Karma said, mouth pulling up in a rueful smile, “everyone else’s comments about us recently make a _lot_ more sense suddenly.” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I get the feeling that we’re never going to hear the end of this from them.”

Gakushuu frowned as he thought it over. “You’re probably right, honestly. Oh well, I guess.” he said with a small sigh. “Not much we can do about that.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying the chill in the air. 

“If you want,” Gakushuu began, almost _shy,_ “I can come over this weekend and show you how to make the strawberry milk I made?”

Karma scooted a bit closer to him, not looking directly at him as he did so. “That… sounds nice.” he said, attempting to appear casual.

“And,” Gakushuu continued, feeling a bit more confident as he moved a bit closer, “then I can kick your ass at Mario Kart.”

Not having expected that, Karma laughed brightly in response, closing the distance between them as their hands bumped into each other. “In your _dreams_ maybe.”

And slowly, _so_ slowly that neither of them was completely sure which of them moved first, their fingers began to interweave as they bickered over everything and nothing. 

They didn’t move from that position for quite a long time.


	27. Chapter 27

“It’s _so_ much easier to visit you here now that your dad’s calmed down, dude.”

Gakushuu nodded as he took a bite of his food, eyes lingering briefly on the note sticking to the top of his friend’s bento box. “Did your current girlfriend make that for you?” he asked dryly. Ren had come to visit him during lunch for the day, so instead of their normal spot in the middle of the woods, Gakushuu and Karma had relocated to the field directly in front of the classroom. 

Ren laughed lightly, casually waving his hand at that. “Oh no, I’m not dating her.”

Karma raised an eyebrow from where he was sitting. “Who made it for you then?” 

Pausing, Ren picked up the heart-filled note and squinted at it for a moment before answering, “Apparently her name is Akiko.”

Gakushuu sighed and shook his head at the answer while Karma huffed an amused laugh. He shouldn’t be surprised honestly. Ren really hadn’t changed at all since Gakushuu left A Class. 

Somehow… the thought was comforting. 

Ren smiled behind his next bite of food at the sight of Gakushuu’s lips twitching upwards in begrudging amusement. He was glad to see that the other was still in higher spirits than he used to be. He had been afraid that his lighter mood would only end up being a temporary thing.

“So,” Gakushuu began as he ate the last bite of his food, “how are you faring as student council president?”

Karma blinked and glanced over at Ren. “Oh, so he’s the one who got your old job?”

Ren sighed. “Yeah, and I hate all the paperwork.” He stretched his arms out as he continued casually, “Though now that your dad’s chilled out a bit, it’s not as stressful as it used to be. But I _am_ stuck with a lot of planning stuff for graduation at the moment, which I’m not too excited about.” 

Gakushuu frowned. In the craziness of the past few months, he had completely forgotten that he wouldn’t be able to organize graduation this year. He… wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

Before he had been dropped down to E Class, he had actually made some plans in advance for how the ceremony would be handled. Now, however, he wouldn’t be able to graduate his final year at this school with the position that he had held for so long and put so much effort into. 

It stung.

Seeing the shadow slowly creeping through his friend’s expression, Ren continued on nonchalantly, “Also, I was going to ask if you wouldn’t mind helping me write the speech I’ll need to give at the ceremony? If you have free time, of course.” 

Gakushuu snapped out of his darkening thoughts at that, blinking as he looked back up at the other. “Surely you don’t need my help with this kind of speech? Words tend to be your specialty, after all.”

Shaking his head in a self deprecating manner with a wry smile, Ren responded, “I don’t think I could write it as well as you could on my own.” His smile softened as he shrugged. “You’ve always had more of a talent for speech writing than I do, after all.”

Gakushuu repressed the smile threatening to overtake his lips at that. “I suppose that’s reasonable. Very well, I’ll attempt to set some time aside soon to assist you with it.”

Karma hummed thoughtfully as he glanced between the two for a moment. Then turning to Gakushuu, he piped up, “Not that I’m trying to get rid of you or anything, but if you wanted to go back to A Class I think your dad would transfer you back over pretty easily at this point.”

“No.” Gakushuu said without even stopping to think about it. He already knew his answer, after all. “My father actually offered it to me the night I got home after going voidless. I’ve already agreed to assist with the situation here, I might as well see it through to the end.” In the privacy of his own mind, he could admit that he felt that sticking it out to the end was the _least_ he owed Koro-sensei for all the help and guidance the man had offered him when he had been at his very lowest.

Ren looked over at his friend at that, a teasing smile slowly stretching across his face. “Ah, I see why you don’t want to leave now.” he said in a mock-serious tone as his eyes slowly trailed over to the redhead.

Gakushuu followed his friend’s gaze with his eyes, landing directly on Karma who had just realized what the other meant, a mischievous grin forming on his _own_ face at that. 

Feeling his face immediately begin to heat up, Gakushuu glared darkly at the both of them. “I refuse to humor whatever it is that you’re trying to suggest here.” he hissed, resisting the urge to cover his cheeks with his hands, knowing it would only make them tease him more.

Karma’s eyes were nearly _sparkling_ with this opening, leaning forward as he cheerfully said, “Aw, there’s no need to deny it darling-”

His words were promptly cut off as he had to duck to avoid the object suddenly swinging directly at his head. Blinking and straightening back up, he saw the other drop the branch-turned-weapon back to the ground. 

Scowling as he stood up and dusted himself off, Gakushuu narrowed his eyes at the two snickering annoyances still sitting on the ground. “I’m going to go throw my trash away. Normally I’d say don’t kill each other while I’m gone, but please do me a favor and go for each other’s throats.” With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off back into the building with his trash in hand, still blushing furiously. 

Once they finally stopped laughing, Ren tilted his head to look over at the other boy, a considering look on his face. 

Karma cut the other off when he saw him open his mouth to say something. “Are you going to give me the shovel talk?” he asked, wanting to just get it over with. 

But Ren just raised an eyebrow, amused at the question. “Do you really think there’s anything I could threaten you with that Gakushuu wouldn’t beat me to if you hurt him?” Then he paused for a moment before smiling just a bit _too_ politely, something not unlike sweetly poisoned honey in his tone as he said, “Not that I would be completely harmless in the event that you ever _did_ hurt him though, of course.”

Waving his hand nonchalantly as though brushing away his previous comment, Ren continued on, “Actually, I was just going to ask you to watch out for him. He takes too much weight onto his own shoulders and never thinks to ask for help.” He smiled a bit tiredly at the redhead, who was now watching him with a hint of genuine surprise in his eyes. “I can tell you care about him, so just… watch out for him, will you? He’s human too, even if he does his best to forget that sometimes.”

Karma… had not been expecting that. “Yeah sure.” he said without really thinking about it, feeling faintly impressed for some reason. “I was going to do that anyway, so no worries.”

“That’s good to hear.” Ren said as he let out a sigh, his posture relaxing as he leaned his weight back onto his hands, propping himself up. 

Karma studied the other for a moment. “You asked him for help with the speech to cheer him up, didn’t you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes in curiosity. The other had played it smoothly, but Karma had seen that split second of calculation on his face before he offered. 

Ren blinked in surprise at that before smiling ruefully. “Ah, I suppose I’m caught there. Yeah, that’s most of why I asked him, honestly.” He smiled absently in the direction of the building as he spoke, fondness clear in his tone as he continued, “You know how he is. He loves being considered the best at things and all the official stuff like giving speeches and organizing events. I figured he’d be bummed about getting left out of it this year, so…” he shrugged as he trailed off, as though the rest didn’t need to be explained. 

Karma nodded mock-seriously. “He’s a nerd in the truest sense of the word.” Unable to hold it back anymore, he grinned as he continued in the same tone, “Honestly, he’s lucky that someone as cool as me decided to date him. Otherwise he’d be stuck at home, organizing his pencils by what shade of yellow they were.” He shook his head sadly, as though reporting truly tragic news. 

Ren had to put his hand over his mouth to repress a laugh at that, looking up right as Gakushuu opened the door to the building and walked back outside. 

“You two seem to be getting along well.” Gakushuu said dryly with a hint of suspicion in his tone. The one thing the two of them clearly had in common to talk about was him, so, “What exactly was so funny?”

Karma smiled up at him, wearing an expression that could perhaps be considered innocent by anyone that had never met him… or by anyone that didn’t possess _eyes._ “Nothing at all! In fact, I’m _insulted_ by your suspicion-”

Gakushuu raised his hand as he sighed. “Save it, I can already tell this is going nowhere.” He sat back down in his spot, kicking the branch away. 

“Could one of you explain to me why there’s _unauthorized_ personnel here?”

The three of them looked up at that, seeing Karasuma standing there looking _particularly_ annoyed. 

Before any of them could defend themselves, Karasuma jabbed his finger behind him to where Koro-sensei was standing, fully in view. “This directly goes against the contracts you signed, letting an outsider see him!”

Karma smiled brightly up at the man, never one to be easily intimidated. “I’m not sure what you mean, sir!”

Glancing over and quickly picking up where the other was going with this, Ren smiled up at the man as well. “Yeah, I just see a normal large and... strangely happy man there.” 

Karasuma turned back around only to see Koro-Sensei now suddenly in his usual disguise, openly giggling at the look on his face. 

Gakushuu smiled politely when he turned back around to glare at them once more. “It seems that nothing is out of the ordinary, Karasuma-sensei.”

There were a few tense moments where Karasuma only glared at the three silently before he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh. “I don’t get paid enough for this.” he grumbled, turning on his heel and stalking back inside, likely to lecture the octopus-shaped annoyance in his life. 

After waiting a few seconds to make sure he wasn’t coming back, the three of them silently let out a sigh of relief. 

After glancing down at his phone, Ren stood up and stretched his arms out, a bit sore after sitting still for so long. “Well, lunch is almost over so I should head back before I end up being late.”

Karma nodded seriously. “Of course. It’s bad form for the student council president to be late to anything ever.” He winced as the expected elbow painfully met with his midsection. He turned and met his boyfriend’s irritated glare with a shameless grin, always happy to get to tease him. “Yes~?” 

Gakushuu clicked his tongue but had to visibly fight down the smile threatening the corners of his lips. “You’re an annoyance.”

“And yet you’re dating me anyway.” Karma cooed back, leaning closer to the other. 

Gakushuu hummed lightly at that. “I can’t seem to remember why that is suddenly.” Amusement entered his eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched up at the pout the other aimed at him. 

Idea striking him suddenly, Karma grabbed Gakushuu’s hand in his own, batting his eyelashes at the other. “I suppose I could always try to help you remember…”

Gakushuu froze, feeling his face heat up. He hadn’t expected _that._ How… was he even supposed to _react_ to that…?

“Wow, this might be some of the weirdest flirting I’ve seen yet. But I guess it makes sense when you take the couple into consideration.” 

Gakushuu’s face heated up even _more_ at that, realizing that _Ren hadn’t left yet._ He glared up at the other who was watching them both with the amused curiosity normally reserved for things like watching kittens get stuck in tissue boxes. 

Reaching out with his free hand, Gakushuu grabbed the branch he had kicked away, ignoring the scarlet on his face as he chucked the branch directly at his now-snickering friend. 

Ren tilted his head to the side just as the branch _whizzed_ past where his head was. With a thoroughly amused grin, he waved once before turning around, jogging back in the direction of the main campus. 

Grabbing his boyfriend’s other hand and clasping it in his own before he could reach for something else to throw, Karma smiled at the embarrassed scowl still on the other’s face. Slowly, Karma lifted one of Gakushuu’s hands up to his mouth, eyes softening as he gently kissed the back of it. 

“We should probably head back inside as well.” he said softly, his own face a bit red. 

Now convinced that his face would never again return to its normal shade, Gakushuu could only nod as he pulled his hands back to himself. Standing up, he faced away from the other as he dusted himself off, determined to have some privacy while he calmed his expression back down. That was the first time he had been kissed _anywhere_ by someone who wasn’t family. 

...Did _everyone’s_ heart race like this the first time it happened for them??

If he had turned to look at that moment, he would have seen Karma in a similar state himself, completely unused to giving or receiving romantic affection. 

After gathering the rest of their trash, they carried it inside to throw it away, the fingers of one hand still interlocked.

—

“You’ve been sleeping a lot recently, Vexus.” Gakushuu commented, resting his head on his hand, elbow propped up on his desk. 

It was the end of the school day and most of the class was lingering behind, none of them in any rush to leave. The being in question was currently cuddled into Gakushuu’s jacket which was arranged into a nest for him on top of the desk.

“I have been, yes.” Vexus confirmed. “I’ve realized that while the Shard isn’t able to give me back my memories directly, sleeping in it recently seems to give me dreams that show me glimpses of my past. It feels almost like… the past is calling out for me to remember now.” He slowly shifted, beginning to look a bit like a sea turtle. 

Gakushuu nodded. “Well, don’t try to force yourself if it feels like you need to take a break from it. There’s no rush, just go at your own pace.”

Vexus glowed a bit brighter at the reassurance. “Thanks, kid.”

The calm moment was however ruined, when Karma decided to slowly poke at Vexus with his pencil. 

Vexus leaned away from the pencil and glared up in the redhead’s direction. “What the hell are you doing, brat?” he demanded irritably.

“Well,” Karma began brightly, “you don’t seem like you’re a solid mass, so I was wondering if my pencil would go right through you if I poked you with it.” He moved his pencil forward once more to test his theory, only for the small being to shift into a cat to hiss at him before quickly flying up and onto the top of Gakushuu’s hair, nuzzling in as though that would protect him from anymore oncoming pencil jabs.

Gakushuu swatted Karma’s arm lightly, blocking him from trying to prove his hypothesis. “Don’t try to _stab_ him, what’s wrong with you?”

Karma blinked and tilted his head at that. “Didn’t you try to shove him down the garbage disposal once?” he asked innocently.

Gakushuu paused at that, because well yes, he _did_ do that, didn’t he? He had almost forgotten about it.

Looking back now, it was difficult to remember the intense dislike he had held for Vexus when he first met him. Had he _really_ been wound that tightly at the beginning? He supposed he must have been. 

Rio chose that moment to enter the conversation, scooting her desk closer as she did so. “You tried to shove him down a _garbage disposal?”_ she questioned, an amused grin on her face. “That’s pretty harsh even for _you,_ dude.”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes, refusing to acknowledge the faint embarrassment he could feel building in his chest. “He was hindering my ability to study.” he defended, putting no heat into his words. “I was well within my rights to try and dispose of the stranger attempting to put me in dangerous situations.”

“Fair.” Rio said, still grinning widely as she looked between them. Out of everyone, _she_ was probably the most excited about the class’s new couple. “So have you guys gone on any dates yet?”

Gakushuu and Karma glanced at each other at that. “Well,” Karma began, “we spent all of last weekend playing Mario Kart and a few fighting games. Does that count?”

Rio pouted dramatically at them. “No, that does _not_ count! Where’s the romance?! The cute pet names!?” Placing her hand on her chest, she continued, “I waited so long for you idiots to get your shit together, I deserve to see some quality fluffy romance here!”

Rolling his eyes, Gakushuu dryly began, “We certainly aren’t the type for things like-”

“Honeybear.”

Interrupted and thoroughly thrown for a loop, Gakushuu blinked and looked over at the now _visibly excited_ redhead sitting beside him, an eager grin now on his face. 

Dread began to quickly pool into Gakushuu’s stomach at that. “Karma-” he began warily, only to be swiftly cut off by the other once more. 

“Sweetie. Darling. Baby. Honeybun.”

“Karma.” 

“Honeydarling. Sweetums. Pumpkin. Sweetheart.” 

Face flushing brightly, Gakushuu tried once more, _“Karma-”_

_“Honey bunches of oats.”_

_“That is a_ **_cereal brand_ ** _and I regret every decision that led me here to this day.”_

Karma laughed brightly, entirely amused by Gakushuu’s increasingly reddening face. He would never have guessed that one day he would end up here like this with the other, able to spout off cheesy nicknames just to watch him blush all the way down to his collar. 

In all honesty, the longer the other had stayed with him after he ran away from home, the more interested he found himself in him. Their personalities just _clicked_ in a way that had never happened before for him. And now they spent most of their free time hanging out together, playing video games, sparring, or whatever strange competition they felt like challenging the other to at the time, both too competitive to ever ignore a challenge from the other. 

And in the privacy of his own mind, Karma could admit that the other’s looks certainly weren’t _hurting_ anything. Just the other day in fact, Gakushuu had gotten caught in the rain on his way to Karma’s house. He had swept his dripping hair back and out of his eyes absently, showing off more of his face than what was normally on display. 

Karma had nearly _swooned._

They both snapped back to reality however, when they heard their classmates giggling at their display, all of them having been aware of the unspoken chemistry between them. 

The most annoying laughter, however, was the hardest one to ignore. 

_“Nufufufu!”_ Koro-sensei began grin stretched wider across his face than usual. “Ahh, young love!” he cooed, waving his tentacles around. “How adorable! How precious! In fact, I’ll have you both know that I guessed this matchup from the beginning!”

Gakushuu blinked up at him. “I know.” 

Koro-sensei paused. “You… do?” he asked, confused. “How do you know that?”

Pulling a thin notebook out of his desk, Gakushuu held it up for the teacher to see. “I read it in your notebook.”

Koro-sensei let out a high pitched _shriek_ at that. “You _what!?”_

Idly flipping through it, Gakushuu blandly replied, “Honestly, the amount of stalking that you do into your students’ private lives is more than enough for multiple restraining orders. In fact, I wonder if I could convince the principal to cut your pay…?”

Flailing his tentacles around wildly, Koro-sensei desperately wailed out, “Wait no! Please don’t! Have mercy on me! Where… where did you even _get_ that!?”

Repressing an amused smile, Gakushuu said, “Oh, you left it unattended in the teacher’s lounge.”

“The-” Koro-sensei paused, “The teacher’s lounge!? Why would _you_ go in there!?”

Gesturing vaguely to the red haired menace sitting beside him, Gakushuu casually replied, “I was just in there because Karma dragged me along when he went to go steal your wallet.”

“HE _WHAT???”_

Karma grinned cheerfully at the distraught teacher. Pulling the coin purse out of his pocket, he tossed it over to the teacher only for the man to discover it empty. “Thanks for the bag of chips, teach!” he chirped. 

Koro-sensei’s arms flailed even more wildly, irritation coloring his face as he yelled back heatedly, “Demonic children! Why would you be so _mean_ to your sweet sensei this way?? Is it because I haven’t been giving you all enough attention recently!?” he fretted, getting lost in his strange ideas once more. “Well don’t you worry!” he declared to his now-worried class. “I can fix that!”

And without any further warning, they were all suddenly wrapped up tightly in a tentacle hug, all pulled from their seats to be closer to him. 

Gakushuu gave a cursory struggle against the tentacles before sighing and giving up. He _could_ reach the knife in his boot if he wanted to, but…

Well, it wasn’t like he was _that_ uncomfortable. 

He glanced over at Karma who also wasn’t bothering to fight the tentacles. He’d be surprised, but he supposed that the other had been through far more of these hugs than he himself had. 

After a few more moments Koro-sensei seemed satisfied, gently setting all of them back down in their chairs, patting the tops of their heads as he released them. “There, now isn’t that better?” he asked. 

“Did you steal my damn pudding in the middle of that!?” Terasaka demanded loudly, glaring at his now-sweating teacher. 

“Ahh,” Koro-sensei began nervously, glancing around as though looking for an escape. “No?”

_“You’re literally holding it right now you bastard!”_

Koro-sensei shrieked and tried to shove the pudding into his mouth faster than Terasaka could steal it back. 

Nagisa walked over to their desks amid the chaos, ignoring the normal drama that came with Koro-sensei. He sat down in front of them as he reached them, a small smile on his face. 

“I just realized that I never congratulated you guys on finally getting together.” he said. 

The side of Karma’s mouth pulled up in one of his more honest smiles. “Thanks, I guess.” Then, pulling the smaller boy in for a noogie, he asked, “So why do you keep turning down all our offers to hang out now, huh?”

Struggling to get out of the hold, Nagisa finally managed to jab his friend in the side hard enough to make him let go before carefully answering, “I just don’t want to intrude. You guys only just started dating, and I don’t want to make it weird for you guys by third-wheeling.” He felt at his hair with his hands, frowning when he felt how askew his pigtails had gone. 

With a small sigh, Gakushuu stepped forward and undid Nagisa’s hair, quickly brushing it out with his fingers and deftly fixing it back up into its normal state as he said, “Unless I’ve missed something, we _are_ still all… _friends_ ,” he paused slightly before the word, still unused to saying it so casually, before continuing, “so there should be no issue with all of us hanging out. I doubt there will be issues keeping dates and more casual hanging out sessions separate, so there’s no need to be concerned over that.” Stepping back after he fixed the other’s hair, he commented lightly, “There, they’re symmetrical again.”

“Uhh,” Nagisa said, a little dazed, “thanks? And umm…” he trailed off for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. “You’re right. Sorry, I didn’t want to make it seem like I was avoiding you guys or anything.”

Patting his smaller friend’s back just a bit too roughly, Karma grinned playfully down at him. “It’s all good, dude. Just come hang out with us this weekend. I wanna see that new movie that came out recently. It’s supposed to suck and I want to mock it.”

Nagisa huffed a quiet laugh at his friend’s request. Yeah, that sounded like Karma all right. 

They were distracted from their conversation however, when Gakushuu fell to his knees, clutching his ears, an expression of _pain_ clear on his face with his eyes squeezed shut.

Karma was immediately by his side, a hand on his back as he quietly asked, “Shuu? Are you okay? What’s happening?” He kept his voice low in case the noise would make it worse, but he couldn’t keep the worry out of his tone. 

From the top of Gakushuu’s head, Vexus seemed to _also_ be in some kind of pain. “It’s the Shard… it’s,” he paused and stared off into nothing for a moment before continuing slowly, “it’s reacting to something _big._ The… the sheer amount of starless that I’m sensing _alone…”_ Shaking himself, he flew into the Shard for a moment, flying back out as quickly as he went in. 

“There,” he said, floating back in front of his Chosen, “I got the Shard to stop trying to alert you of the danger like that. The sounds should be stopping soon.”

And sure enough, a few seconds later Gakushuu was pulling his hands away from the sides of his head, doing his best to keep his breathing under control. “The Shard is… it’s really anxious right now. I’m... feeling it, I think.”

Vexus floated in front of him. “It is.” he confirmed grimly. “You’re handling it really well, but you need to get ready. Thallum is making his move now. He’s got something big planned and it’s not just that…” His silver eyes meeting the violet of his Chosen’s as he continued lowly, the whole class straining to hear...

_“All_ of the remaining starless have been pulled into this world.”  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I appreciate comments! :D If people seem to like this story, I'll continue writing it! (Seriously, comments are what motivate me to write so quickly lolol)
> 
> I'm writing a fic of Gakushuu and Ren growing up together, mostly from Ren's perspective (the backstory is canon for both fics btw) [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26079568?view_full_work=true#main)
> 
> I also did a sketch of Vexus [here!](https://karmicmayhem.tumblr.com/post/628265086818140160/a-rough-sketch-of-vexus-from-my-fic-plus-him)
> 
> UPDATE: I made a discord for anyone who likes Gakushuu and wants to chat about him, along with anyone who wants to chat about fanfics (also I'll be sending messages there when I update, so you'll be notified right away!) [here!!](https://discord.gg/7dqzBEh)


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